Dancing To The Beat naruto fanfic
by Megumi Tsukazu
Summary: Hanabi is shipped off to Kumo, the best boarding school in the land.She attaches herself to Itachi, an upperclassmen.She soon comes to learn that Itachi isn't what he appears to be.Her world is flipped when she discovers him to be a vampire.And so is she.
1. Acceptance Letter

Chapter 1

Acceptance Letter

"I can't BELIEVE he's making me go!" She stomped across the room and picked up an envelope. She looked down at the letter, her eyes were slits. The letter read plainly "We at Kumo High School and University gladly accept Hyuga Hanabi into the student body." She crushed the letter in her grip. "A boarding school?! He's sending me to a boarding school!"

Hanabi's father had forced her into taking the entrance exam for Kumo. The reason? He didn't believe she was being "challenged" at Konoha High. She'd heard well of the school, her cousin, Neji, and her sister, Hinata were currently attending the school and they both said that Kumo was a great place. She rolled her eyes and the uncrumpled the letter. _At least they gave me gas money to get all the way there…_

"Hanabi! You leave tomorrow, get the rest of your things packed, will you?" her father cried coming into her room. She glared at him, _I can't believe I have to go to this stupid school…_ "Alright Dad, I am packing!"

She leaned against the glass window of the limo. She stared out at the wooded land as they passed through village after village. She refused to make eye contact with her father. "Look Hanabi…" he said finally. "I just want what's best for you, and Kumo is going to make sure you get the best!" She said nothing but plugged in her Ipod to drown out his attempts at making her feel better. _How long does it take to get to the Village Hidden in the Clouds?! _ She looked down at her school uniform, red plaid skirt and white blouse with the school's tie. _This is just some stuck up prick school, I'm not looking forward to this at all…_

When Hanabi awoke the driver had parked in a small drop off circle. She opened the door and grabbed her things. The driver and two other men picked up her luggage to carry it to her room. She walked into the welcome center and up to the desk, where a woman with dark brown hair sat in a business suit. "Hello, my name is Hyuga Hanabi. I'm a new student here." The woman smiled, "Oh, yes, we've been expecting you. Here is your class schedule. Since it's after class times today, you will start tomorrow." She leaned over to a small microphone and flipped a switched. "Mr. Uchiha? Please come to the front? Miss Hyuga, you may take a seat over there while Itachi comes up, he will show you around the campus and direct you to the proper class rooms."

She wasn't waiting long before a boy walked through the doors. He was tall, his long black hair was pulled into a ponytail. He was in school uniform, for the boys it was 

a long black pants with a black long sleeved shirt. His red eyes seemed to match the uniform. Hanabi was taken aback. She hadn't expected the school to have any good looking guys at all. She stood and introduced herself. He smiled at her, "I'm Uchiha Itachi. I think we'll get along just fine. Now lets see that schedule and I'll show you around."

"And this is your dorm. You're lucky Miss Hyuga, you don't have any roommates" Itachi smiled down at her. She looked down at her feet. Itachi frowned. "If you get lonely and want someone to talk to, you can always come to my dorm, its right there," he pointed to a dorm room off to the right of Hanabi's. She smiled at him, "Thank you Itachi-Sama. And we have almost all classes together; it's great that you're so friendly! Oh and please just call me Hanabi." "I will call you Hanabi-Kun when you call me Ita-San," with that he left. As he turned Hanabi noticed something about his eyes. They were black. _But…I could've sworn his eyes were bright red when we were in the main office…_ "Oh well, I bet it's just my eyes playing tricks on me."


	2. First Day

Chapter 2

First Day

"Miss Hyuga," Hanabi sat up straight upon hearing her name. "Yes Sir?" Her teacher eyed her.

"Can you answer the question?" She looked at the board. She had no idea what the question was… "From now on keep your eyes on the board and off of you're classmates." The class rippled with chuckles, making Hanabi look down. She felt something soft grab her hand; it was Itachi who smiled encouragingly down at her. "Alright, you are dismissed."

The class filled out and Itachi walked with her to her locker. "Don't worry about him," he said meaning their teacher. "He's a real stiff, he'll warm up to you though." She skeptically looked up at him. "Right…when pigs fly, Itachi-Sama." He playfully pushed her, "Come on Miss Hyuga, its lunch now. I'm sure that you'll be able to make it through that."

When she received her food tray she looked around the large cafeteria. She felt like an idiot standing in the middle of the room while everyone sat smiling and laughing. "Miss Hyuga!! Miss Hyuga, over here!" She looked around to find her caller, it was Itachi. He was waving and smiling for her to sit with him. She sat down beside him and they began conversation about the day's happenings.

They were in the middle of the conversation when a voice was heard behind them. "Itachi Uchiha, what is a senior doing with a freshman?" Itachi turned around and glared at the boy addressing him. "Edmund, she's my friend, do you have a problem with that?" Hanabi looked over Edmund. He was tall and slender. He had long black hair that reached his mid back. His eyes were bright blue. He was very very pretty. He looked over at Hanabi and she looked down, a blush spreading across her face. "You, freshman, what's your name?" "Hanabi Hyuga…nice to meet you."

He smiled at her, "Another Hyuga? Just what this school needs." His sarcasm made her want to kick something. Itachi stood up and got into Edmund's face. She looked at him afraid he's punch Edmund's face in. His eyes seemed to flash to bright red, she looked at the college student whose eyes had also changed color. They now shone bright purple. A deep growling sound came from the back of Itachi's throat, making Hanabi jump. Edmund grinned in return. "Why don't you just run off to you precious little Hyuga girlfriend, Itachi?" "Hanabi isn't my girlfriend," he said still glaring. "She isn't the Hyuga I was referring to," he smiled at him then turned to Hanabi and bowed then walked away.

Itachi sat down and looked at Hanabi, his eyes were black again. "Sorry about that, Hanabi-Kun." She noticed a small blush on his cheeks. "That was Edmund Movack. He's a first year college student. He and I have never gotten along." He got up to dump his and Hanabi's tray. "Come on, Hanabi-Kun, we have P.E. next. We'll need to change."

She looked down at her P.E. uniform. She was dressed in black skin tight shorts and a red sports bra that read Kumo across the front. To her dismay Edmund was in this class. Itachi walked up behind her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "We're playing lacrosse today. It'll be fun!"

The coach split the teams, in the end Itachi and Hanabi ended up being on opposite teams. Within the fifty percent chance of getting Edmund on her team she thought she'd be okay. To put it simply, she wasn't. Edmund walked over to her and smiled, "It's great that we're on the same team huh Hyuga?" He flashed his best prize winning smile and patted her shoulder.

It was mid game and Hanabi was completely focused. The ball was on the opposite side. A boy named Naruto passed the ball to Itachi who threw it over. Hanabi went to catch the heavy metal ball but found herself on the ground, costing her team the game point. She pulled herself off the ground thinking about how she had fallen. Her shoe laces were tied and the grass was dry and she hadn't tripped over her feet.

She began to brush herself off when Edmund backed her up against the net. "You cost us the game you little twit!" She looked up at him, her lavender eyes wide with fear. They were alone. No one, not even Itachi, was in sight. He grabbed her wrist and grinned. "Please, let go…" she said timidly. He leaned down in her face and bared his teeth like a wild animal would.

Hanabi saw a dark figure appeared between her and Edmund. Itachi's hand flung across Edmund's face. Edmund released Hanabi and clutched his cheek, when he brought his hand down there were four long scratches where Itachi's nails had dug into his flesh. Blood dripped from Itachi's hand, he lifted it and licked a small trail off of his finger tip. "You…How dare you?!" Edmund screamed in his face. "You will remember your place, Edmund Movack!" Itachi retorted furiously. "I know my place! You're nothing but a", he was interrupted by Itachi. "I am a pureblood, may I remind you. And you are nothing but a filthy little mixedblood, hiding behind your daddy's title. So keep you're tongue." Itachi grabbed Hanabi's hand and began to walk toward the dorms. "Just remember Uchiha!" Edmund called after them. "I know what you did." Itachi walked faster toward the dorms, dragging Hanabi behind him.


	3. Just a Guess

Chapter 3

Just a Guess

Hanabi couldn't get the fight between Itachi and Edmund out of her head. Even three weeks afterward the words that they had exchanged rang in her mind. _You're nothing but a filthy little mixedblood._ What did that mean? All their talk of being mixedblood and pureblood had left many questions in her mind. Since then she had been watching Itachi like a hawk, which was incredibly more difficult than she expected. The perfect features of him body made her shudder. His pale skin looked great with the contrast of his coal black hair. The perfect chiseled shape of his chin and nose made her heart thud wildly.

It was a Friday night. Classes were over and there was only one more week left until the Halloween Dance, which meant the dorms would be completely empty, making her plans for an early night feasible. It was dark as she laid her head down for the night. She could see nothing, but what she could hear was different. Breathing, slow steady breathing echoed through her room. The noise made her stiff, but she soon drifted to sleep.

It was dark. She was alone but she could hear something that soothed her. "Don't do it…" he said. It was Itachi's voice. "Don't!! Hanabi, run!" She obeyed. She ran like she had never run before. Her legs felt as if they would burst. She saw someone up ahead. He was tall slender with a head full of black hair. _Itachi!_ As she approached she realized it wasn't Itachi. This man had black hair and grey skin. He had purple circles under his eyes, which were a bright yellow. The man ran at her and did something she wouldn't have expected. He bit her, her neck to be exact. She was immobilized with fear. She felt something enter into her, like someone was giving her a shot. It entered through the man's teeth and into her skin.

She opened her eyes and rolled over. She was sweating; her brown hair was plastered to her face. She stumbled in the darkness toward the bathroom. She had to suppress a scream when she turned on the light. Her skin was pale, paler than normal. It was as if someone pushed her into a pull of liquid paper. Her eyes which were normally a light lavender color were now even lighter, bordering white. She slowly tilted her head to the side to reveal her neck. There was a small bruise.

The next morning she ran to the Kumo Library. It was large. Computers lined three walls and in the middle were books as far as she could see. She was alone in the library, not even any staff was in the room. She brought up the internet search page and hesitated before typing. She had no clue what she was looking for. She pulled out a 

notebook and opened it to a blank page where she wrote some strange things that she had observed since the first day.

The fight was definitely the first on the list. There was the way Itachi always appeared out of nowhere, his pale skin and changing of his eye color as well. Then there was the whole week of chemistry. Hanabi was the youngest in the class and so always sat with Itachi as to not feel different. He hadn't been to chemistry all week. When she had asked him about it, he smiled at said that it was good to ditch classes every now and then. She thought about the lesson. They had been doing experiments all week on how blood reacted with different types of chemicals. She wrote that down as well.

She stared at the list; one word appeared in her mind. She typed it in slowly, as if she was afraid. She walked out of the library 3 hours later, proud she had found something to go on. That night she hung out with Itachi, like she had every weekend since she started. He smiled as she walked in, "I'm not in the mood for being cooped up, you wanna go outside?" She nodded. He led her outside, toward the courtyard. He motioned for her to sit on the small bench next to him.

He looked at her, there was about a two foot space between them. She looked down embarrassed when she met his gaze. "What's wrong, Hanabi-Kun?" She looked away from him. "Nothing." She heard him chuckle and her insides did a summersault. "Come now Hanabi, something's going on. Tell me." She looked at him, his expression soft. "I just have a theory…" she said timidly. Itachi raised his eyebrows, truly curious. "Oh, do tell."

She smiled at him, "I have a theory that you're not _human_." She was glad she had smiled, making her statement seem like a joke. "Oh really?" he laughed. "What am I then? Oh and if your theory states that I'm allergic to kryptonite you're wrong." She smiled sheepishly. "No that's not it…" "Then what is it?" She looked around making sure that they were alone. She then looked at him, although his expression was soft his eyes were alert, red again. They were full of anger. "I can't say… "Are you going to have to write it down?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small manila colored piece of paper and a pencil. She took them and brought the pencil down against the paper. Her hands were shaking. She closed her eyes as she wrote one word onto the paper. She handed Itachi the manila colored sheet and he looked at it. She could tell he was rereading it since he looked at if longer than needed. He crumpled the paper and threw it to the ground. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to the dorm. A feeling spread through her body as she was being pulled away. It was like an electric current emanating from his hand. His lips were pressed together in anger. His eyes were bright red.

She knew at that moment, what she had thought, her theory was correct. She looked back at the Manila paper lying on the ground in a crumpled heap. There was just one word on it. One single word. In messy hand writing on the center of the paper.

Vampire.


	4. Twenty Questions

Chapter 4

Twenty Questions

He threw the door to his dorm against the wall, making his roommate, Tsugami, a junior, jump. "Itachi, what are you doing? Would you like me to leave, it looks like you have plans" he said smiling suggestively at Hanabi. "Tsugami, get out!" Itachi's voice was more of a bark than a yell. Akira raised his eye brow and slowly made his way toward Itachi. "What's going on, Itachi?" The seniors nostrils flared with anger. His roommate nodded understandingly and walked out of the room and down the hall toward the library.

He threw her onto his bed and glared at her. "Tell me what you know." His statement –more like command– was incredibly simple but somehow it confused her. Apparently he realized this and began yelling. "Tell me what you know now Hanabi!" She flinched at the sudden loudness of his voice. He lost his temper and held down her shoulders. "Hanabi, if you don't tell me you'll be killed!" A tear rolled down her cheek.

Itachi immediately backed away from her. She slowly sat up. "Itachi…If you mean what I know about vampires, than I don't know much." Itachi looked over at her and frowned. "I startled you. Hanabi I'm so sorry…" She got off the bed and ran towards him. She didn't realized what she was doing before her arms were locked around his waist. In the month and a half that she had known Itachi, she had always found him incredibly attractive. Hugging him was a dream come true for her. She couldn't have imagined that he would react the way he did.

"Itachi, I'm so sorry. I think I understand, I'm not allowed to know am I?" It surprised her how fast she was speaking. Itachi pushed her away immediately and ran to leaned his head against the wall. He let his face fall into his hands. "Don't touch me!" She could almost feel her heart breaking. She didn't understand why she liked him so much. She caught her breath and prayed that the tears drowning her innards didn't spill over her eyes.

"I'm sorry, it's not you Hanabi."

"Then what is it?"

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. His eyes back to their neutral coal black. "I can't have you near me…" His voice was soft, gentle. She wanted to cry. Itachi not able to be near her? He was her only friend. She adored him, his eyes, his hair, his beautiful face. "Why not? If is because I can't know, you can erase my memories. But I can't not be near you Itachi."

He looked up and chuckled halfheartedly. "I think you've been misinformed about what we can and can't do Hanabi. I've never heard of a…of one of us erasing memories." She noticed how he couldn't bring himself to say it, the word. Vampire. "But what you said, about not being allowed to know, that's true. You're not allowed to know about us. But that wasn't why you can't be near me." His smile straightened into a line of frustration and anger.

Hanabi looked at him confused. "Let me see if I can explain this. Hanabi, we can do things you can't. Smell things, hear things, and see things that it would be impossible for anyone else to see. Now each person has their own scent." He slowly approached her and sat on the opposite side of the bed, keeping a large gap between them. "Your cousin for example, Neji, I think he smells kinda like…soil. It's weird to say but he does. And that's not very appealing, in my opinion anyway. But you Hanabi. You smell absolutely luscious."

She looked down at her hands. She had seen him shiver when he said that. "Your scent, its so tempting Hanabi. I haven't attacked a human in years…I don't want you to be the first." Hanabi rested her hand atop his. His skin, as she realized for the first time, was freezing cold, as if blood hadn't run through his veins in years. _It hasn't_ she realized.

She gently raised her free hand to rest on the small band-aid on her neck. "So…How did you become a vampire, Itachi-Sama?" He looked at her with the most confused expression. "Where did you do your research Hanabi? Wikipedia?" he joked. She blushed…she had. When he realized she was still waiting for an answer his face went stone. "Why?" The grip on her neck tightened. "I was just wondering…"

"I never became a vampire. I was born like this…I was born a monster." He looked at her again. "Why do you ask?" She blushed and looked away. "Can someone become a vampire by being bitten?" she asked timidly. He slowly leaned over to her. "You were bitten?" his voice was quiet but fierce as if she was being interrogated. "I think…it was a dream but when I woke up…" she ripped her bandage off and showed him two small dots on her neck. He looked at her, his eyes red again.

"What did the man look like?" She thought about it for a second… "He had long black hair, and grey looking skin. He had yellow eyes and purple bags under them. I remember his eyes the most…they looked like…snake eyes." He got up and paced the room. Then sat down. "Well then…um Hanabi this is going to sound weird but bare your fangs." She looked at him as if he had asked her to eat dirt. "Never mind, I'll do it" he said in frustration. He bit into his thumb and gently grabbed her chin. A thick red drop fell from his finger and into her slightly opened mouth. She closed her eyes and cringed.

"Gross! It tastes like wine!" She leaned away from him. He sighed with relief and fell back onto the bed. "You're not one of us." A sudden wave of heaviness fell over her. Everything sounded so loud. She could her water dripping in the bathroom that she 

hadn't heard before. She could hear Itachi's breathing like it was thunder. Her hands flew to her ears to block out the noise.

"Hanabi, what's wrong?" Itachi's voice was alert, worried. Things were quiet again. She slowly let her hands fall to her lap; she had adjusted to the loudness. "Itachi…I feel different." She stood up and walked to the bathroom. "OH MY GOD!!" She could barely recognize the reflection in the mirror.

Her skin was the color of Itachi's: paper white. Her eyes were white. But that wasn't what made her scream, it looked like she had gone through extensive facial surgery. All of her features were flawless. She had a perfectly angular nose and chin. She looked at her nose which she had broken when she was young. There had always been a small twist in it, now it was straight and beautiful.

"Hanabi, come here." Itachi gently turned her around and placed his ear against her chest. He looked at her and frowned. "What's wrong?!" He rubbed his neck and walked over to his dresser drawer. Hanabi followed behind him and watched him pull out a long necklace with a small charm on it. He wrapped it around his and Hanabi's neck. "Hanabi close your eyes, don't open to them until I tell you to." She obeyed and felt Itachi's arm slowly wrap around her waist. She heard him say something, something inaudible and suddenly she was spinning.


	5. Welcome to Coppedge

Chapter 5

Welcome to Coppedge

Hanabi was whimpering. Her eyes were shut tightly but she could still hear the commotion of her surroundings. It sounded as if she'd been dropped off in the middle of a large city. She felt Itachi's lips brush past her cheek as he moved to whisper in her ear. "Hanabi, we're here. You can open your eyes." "Here??" she questioned as she opened her eyes slowly.

It looked as if they had taken a step back in time a few hundred years. She was standing in the middle of a small market, the stands made of lumber and other vegetation. The road was cobblestone, and everything was a neutral color. She looked around the new world of greys browns and blacks. She felt a tugging at her waist and realized Itachi was leading her somewhere. They walked for only about a minute before they reached a large building. It looked like a cathedral.

She hadn't seen Itachi move or begin to move. But he now stood almost 25 yards away. She blinked and he was at her side again. "How did you do that?!" He smiled, "It's a vampire thing. Now I want you to follow me, try to keep up." She looked at him skeptically. "You've been bitten by the man with the yellow eyes, a vampire. Yet you aren't feral. So you've got to be a purebred." Her eyes widened at his statement. _I'm a _vampire_? _ "Try to follow me, don't worry, I'll just jog," he smiled at her.

He took off. She looked down at her feet, unsure. Itachi was about a hundred yards off. She looked back up at him, a small figure now. She closed her eyes and ran. Wind rushed past her face, flipping her hair back. She felt something catch her feet and she fell forward, the impact making a thunderous noise. It hadn't felt like she had moved, but she looked back and saw that the cathedral was a small shape in the distance and Itachi was nowhere in sight. "We'll have to work on that," he laughed. She flipped around and saw Itachi trying to suppress a laugh. She scowled at him. The wind caught up and whipped past their face. "Why did you make me do that?!" she screamed. He helped her off of the ground, "To make sure that I won't make a fool of myself before we see them." She thought about who 'them' might be but disregarded it.

"Alright, this time, I want you to be very _very_ still. Understand?" She nodded unsure of what he was planning. He walked one step closer but stopped. "I mean it Hanabi. Don't move an inch." He continued advancing toward her; he lowered his head so that he could rest his against hers. She felt her pulse quicken at the closeness of him. Apparently he felt it too because he smiled crookedly, making her pulse quicken even more. The wind picked up again. Swishing past them both, whipping their hair in 

different directions. The wind turned into a gale, blowing uncontrollably. He inched away from Hanabi's face and the wind quieted.

"Alright, that will do." Her face was bright red. "What do you mean 'that will do'?!" He smiled at her, "once again, I was just making sure my theory was correct. Now let's get back to the cathedral, I don't want you to fall again, so do you mind riding for a second?" She eyed him with a mixture of frustration and excitement. She threw her hands up, declaring she would accept his ride offer. She climbed onto his back, wrapping her thin fragile looking legs around his iron waist. She was glad he was a vampire, otherwise the death grip she had on his neck as he ran would have surely killed him. (ha no pun intended) They were standing before the cathedral. Hanabi hopped off and admired the building.

Itachi stopped and looked at her. "Hanabi, we are about to enter a room filled with vampires, some of the most powerful in the world. You **will** stay by my side and not wonder off, understood? I'm not the only one who will find you appealing." He gripped the handle to the wooden door and pulled it open. He stepped inside and she followed. He still had his arm wrapped around her waist as they walked down a long corridor toward another door, this one he pulled open and walked through with his face down.

Hanabi looked around the dimly lit room. There was a large jury type of bench in front of them. On the bench there was a variety of people. Old, young, tall, short; they seemed to have nothing in common. Itachi walked her to the center of the room and bowed deeply. All eyes fell on Hanabi, who stood erect. Realizing her audience she quickly curtsied. "You bring us a gift Itachi Uchiha?" one of the older men asked. Itachi chuckled, "No, my friend is no gift. We have come before the council to ask for her protection." Hanabi looked down not wanting to make eye contact. "Have you become so dense that you have forgotten the war, Uchiha?" This time the statement came from a younger boy, he looked only about twelve.

"No, my lord. You see, a certain vampire has his eyes on her, and I can not and will not allow my friend to die." The way he addressed the young boy made Hanabi question these peoples power. She felt a small brush of air next to her and a pair of hands held her wrists together. "Itachi Uchiha, you should know better than to bring a human girl here. Especially one so cute…and who smells so delightful!" Itachi pulled Hanabi out of the persons grip. "And you should know better than to try to attack a human in Coppedge!" he growled, his voice low and intimidating. The boy backed away, "I had no intentions of hurting her, just investigating." He held up the band aid that was being used to cover her bite marks. The council gasped.

"Itachi, with all due respect of course. What were you thinking? You bit a human? And left her alive?!" There was another gasp. Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I have not bitten a human in over fifty years, you should know of all of us, Lord Movack that I 

would not start again now." Hanabi recognized that name…Movack…Movack…she could have sworn she'd heard it somewhere. _Edmund Movack!_ That was it, where she had heard the name. But this wasn't Edmund. He looked much older, maybe in his late 40's from his physical appearance.

"Then who bit her, Itachi!" He shouted. Itachi looked down as if ashamed; when he looked up again his eyes were bright red. "The man with the yellow eyes…" Silence. It was deafening. "He's been dead for years, you were a child when he died Itachi!" the young twelve year old exclaimed in defense. "You have no proof it was him anyway Itachi, so until you have proof, you're at fault. Bringing a feral here, to your home. What would your mother say?!" Itachi groaned from frustration. "She's not feral! She's showing sings of a pureblood." 'Lord Movack' sat back and stared at him with hard eyes. "Is she?"

Itachi shook his head, "her heart still beats, but she's showing signs…I want her to be able to seek refuge here when she needs it." Edmund's father contemplated his request. "I can't Itachi. She's human if not feral. And you know the law. If she's not going to become a vampire, she can not stay here, much less know about us. She'll have to be killed." Hanabi stood perfectly still as her life was being sold away. "Lords and Ladies, don't you realize what this is? This could be what the Book of the Damned was referring to in the prophecy! A girl born of human blood, bitten to become not feral but purebred. The last royal heir of our species!"

Movack rubs his temples. "Fine, she can seek refuge here if needed." Itachi smiled with relief, "I also request that you assign her a pixie." "Don't stretch your luck Itachi, you're like a son to me but you're asking a bit much." "But Sir," Itachi replied. "I am only asking that she receives a fair play, I received a pixie, why can't she? Besides, we might be in the presence of the Princess of Vampires."

"Fine! She'll receive it tomorrow! Now go away boy, you're working my last nerve. You, girl!" Hanabi looked up, "Sir?" "What is your name?" She struggled not to stutter. "Hyugga Hanabi, Sir." He smiled reluctantly at her, "Well then Miss Hyugga, welcome to Coppedge."


	6. The System

Chapter 6

The System

Itachi walked a few strides ahead of her, she struggled to keep up as he made his way down the empty cobblestone road. She had asked where they were headed, to which he had only said "my place".

They reached a two-story building and he opened the door without knocking. He held the door open for Hanabi and followed her in. She could see three people inside, one male, two females. "Itachi's back!" the man cried with excitement as he went to give Itachi a high five. "Who's your friend?" he smiled suggestively at her. Itachi grabbed Hanabi's hand, the sudden coldness wrapping itself around her fingers made her shiver.

"This is Hanabi Hyuga. She'll be coming here every now and then. Hanabi, this obnoxious creature is Michel. "He's a vampire too," he whispered the last part to her. Michel bowed deeply and held her free hand, "I am _very _pleased to meet you Miss Hanabi." Itachi shoved him away playfully, "Back off Mitch, she can do way better than you!" He pulled Hanabi toward the two women who were both leaning against a wall, one was staring out the widow. He beckoned toward the taller one. She was a good head taller than her, she had burgundy colored hair which was long and wavy. It curled down neck to her mid back. She had eyes the color of topaz. "This is Hidan, she's a vampire as well." Hidan glared at Hanabi. A chill ran down her spine. Hidan's eyes roamed over her body until it fell onto her hand which was resting in Itachi's.

She had never felt so small in her life as Hidan glared, her eyes burning imaginary holes in chest. Itachi sensed the tension. "And this," he said moving Hanabi aside. "This is Knesse." Hanabi looked over the girl. She looked like she was in her late teens. She was beautiful. She couldn't believe how inferior she felt in a room with these people. Even Michel looked absolutely gorgeous. Knesse looked different from the other three vampires. She was short and muscular. Knesse's hair was long, like Hidan's. Before she could ask any questions about the strange girl Itachi led her up a stairwell and out of eye shot of them.

They walked down the hallway to a door, Itachi turned the knob and pushed the door open. The room had a warm essence to it. There was a wall of nothing but records and cds and old books. On the opposite side of the room was a complex looking stereo system. The last wall was a giant widow that stretched from floor to ceiling. The view was amazing, in the distance you could see the tips of a mountain ridge and with the moon casting shadows across the large meadow that stretched as far as she could see, and she felt at home. Infront of the large widow was a cozy looking couch, no 

bed. It was black leather. She walked across the wood floor and plopped down on the couch.

"You look like you're thinking about something," Itachi commented as he leaned against the wall. "Yeah, a bunch of stuff. I have thousands of questions in my mind right now, about vampires. Then there's that speech you gave, about me being a princess, what was that all about?" Itachi reached back and pulled his hair out of its ponytail. His long black hair fell onto his shoulders. "That my dear was what I like to call desperation. As to all your questions about _us,_ please feel free to ask."

"Alright then, you said in the cathedral that you haven't attacked a human in over fifty years." Itachi looked down ashamed. "I'm sorry if that scared you. I don't like to attack human, I really do regret it." Hanabi smiled and shook her head, "No I was wondering how old you are, really?" "Eighteen," his answer was quick. A bit too quick. "How long have you been eighteen?" "Well aren't we nosy?" he teased. "I've been eighteen for a while, next question?" She arranged her thoughts for a moment before asking again. "All that stuff about me being a princess, that was all jokes, right?"

At this Itachi ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled slowly. "Its…a possibility." He saw her eyes grow wide and her body stiffen. "But you're still human, so there is hope. But it's not going to but a few months before the council starts to question if you're really the one." At this he folded his arms over his chest. "We've got to figure out what to do! Urgh…They are going to be furious when they find out that you're not the heir, they'll…" he left the sentence hanging. He began pacing. Hanabi got up and approached Itachi, remembering that her scent was intoxicating to him, slowly. Suddenly he stiffened. His head tilted upward and he sniffed the air, a smile appeared on his face. "He'll know what to do," he ran at superhuman speed down the hall and down the stairwell. Hanabi considered whether to try her luck at running again, deciding against it, she walked down the hallway and was stopped by Hidan.

"It was very nice to meet you Hidan," Hanabi stated, bowing politely. "Stay away from him" was her simple reply. Hanabi looked at her, her mouth curved in a frown. "It has been almost sixty years since he lost the last girl he loved. Since he hasn't looked twice in anybody's direction, not even mine. I will not allow you, a measly little human girl to steal him away. I won't let you pretend to care about him just because you think its 'cool' that he's a vampire. You are going to destroy him, and I won't allow it." Hidan turned and walked down the hall towards her bedroom. Hanabi gripped her chest, she wasn't afraid, she was hurt. Hurt because she could feel Hidan's harsh cold words digging into her chest. She struggled to walk down the stairs, when she came to the first story, she found only Itachi.

"Itachi, what are you doing?" he was sitting at the dinning room table that looked unused. "I'm waiting, he's almost here." Hanabi was about to ask who Itachi 

was waiting for but her question answered itself. The door opened and someone stepped through, they wore a cloak with the hood up, hiding their face. Some thing red rushed out of from inside the cloak. It moved so fast Hanabi couldn't focus her eyes on the object until it landed on Itachi's shoulder.

"Itachi!!" The voice was velvet sounding, high-pitched. Hanabi leaned in to see exactly what the red glowing thing was. She looked at it and realized it was a little person, only about three inches high. "Lalasa, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Hanabi." Lalasa fluttered over to Hanabi, landing on her shoulder. She held out her tiny hand, "It's nice to meet you Miss Hanabi. I am Master Itachi's pixie." Hanabi held out her index finger which Lalasa grabbed and shook welcomingly.

"Itachi, long time no see." This voice came from the man beneath the hood. Now with the hood down Hanabi could see his face. He looked close to her age, he was tall, Itachi's height. He had a light tan and blinding platinum blond hair. His bright aquamarine colored eyes mesmerized her. Itachi embraced the man. "Man, I need your help. I am in such a mess right now and I know you'll be able to help me." The cloaked man chuckled, "Let's start with the introductions first. You seem to have forgotten all your manners." Itachi looked back at Hanabi and smiled. "Hanabi, this," he referred to man. "is my best friend. We've known each other for a _very_ long time. His name is Zephr Woodmere."

Zephr looked…different. Not exactly as perfect at all the vampires she'd seen today had been. But it wasn't a bad different, it was like how Kneese looked different. Zephr's tanned skin threw her 'vampire' theory for a loop. "He's _not_ a vampire," she looked at Itachi. "How did you…" He grinned wickedly. "Just another vampire thing, I can read minds if I choose to do so. Zephr is an elf." Hanabi looked back at him, "An elf? I thought there were only vampires; I didn't expect a whole fairytale type of thing…" Zephr chuckled, "It's very nice to meet you too." He motioned to her to sit as he and Itachi took a seat. "Lalasa, why don't you go upstairs? I'm sure that Kneese would be happy to see you." The pixie obeyed and fluttered up the stairs.

"It seems that you failed to explain to your friend the system of this world."

"Yeah, sorry about that…"

"Shall I have the honor then?"

Itachi smiled at him. Zephr turned towards her. "Alright here's how our system works. It's kinda like your social system. The highest of the species is the Woodland Elf. Me, if you aren't following. This is because we elves have magical properties, cooler than vampires I can assure you," he said smiling at Itachi. "But we elves usually like to keep in the forests, most don't like to associate beyond our species. But after us are the vampires and werewolves. Vampires run this joint. They're good at controlling and 

running stuff, those damn control freaks. So they run everything, there are different types of vampires in the species but I'll let Itachi tell you about that." "But if vampires and werewolves are the same rank, why don't werewolves help run stuff?" Hanabi inquired. Zephr smiled in return. "Werewolves are very…unpredictable. They like the ultimate impulse buyers only they're much gorier. So they aren't 'allowed' to run things. Next up are the fairies, these include a bunch of different types of creatures: sirens, nymphs, muses, etcetera. Kneese for example, she's a siren."

Hanabi leaned back and added up her knew found knowledge. _That's why she looked so strange._ "Kneese is cool though, not like other sirens. Most of them are total jerks who like to con men out of what little money they have on them. Well after fairies the high class ends. Then you've got middle class and lower class. That consists of things like pixies, dwarves, chimeras, and stuff like that." Zephr pushed himself away from the table, Itachi stopped him before he could get far. "Zephr, I need help. I'm trying to find a certain vampire and I need a good tracker such as yourself." His friend smiled down at him. "Itachi my child, you know I can't track vampires. You bloody creatures are so hard to follow, making circles and backtracking just cause you smell a meal. You need yourself a hunter." The sudden change in topic had Hanabi struggling to keep up. _A hunter…_ She had assumed that Zephr meant a Vampire Hunter.

"Yeah right…" Itachi grimaced. "Where am I supposed to find a vampire willing to help a vampire?" Hanabi studied Zephr's expression. He had his eyebrows raised and stared at Itachi questioningly. There was a moment of silence before Itachi reacted to his expression. "No…NO WAY am I going to _him_ for help……Zephr quit thinking that! You're giving me a headache!! Stop it!" Itachi turned his back to his friend. "Aw come on Itachi! You see him all the time, he's the perfect person to ask." Hanabi looked back at Zephr, "Who?" He ignored her question and continued speaking. "He's going to help you." Itachi glared at him annoyed "And how do you know for sure?" Zephr smiled and tapped his temple which was covered by a head full of his white hair. "Try Itachi, there's nobody else anyway." "Wait who are you talking about?" Hanabi asked, raising her voice. Itachi rubbed his temples. "Fine then…If that's the only way I guess it couldn't hurt." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Hanabi stood up and glared at them, "Who are you talking about?!" Zephr smiled at her, one of those annoying smiles that you always hate to see. "Why, the other Uchiha of course!"


	7. A Promise Unsure

Chapter 7

A Promise Unsure

Itachi led her up the stairs to his room. "Hey," she began as he opened the door for her. She stepped in and walked to the couch, where she would be sleeping. "How come you don't have a bed in your room?" He glanced down at her, "I'm a vampire, I don't sleep." In just one day she had discovered the existence of vampires and other mythical species and taken a trip to their world, Coppedge. She was exhausted beyond all explanation.

Itachi handed her a pillow and a small blanket. She lay back against the arm of the sofa as she waited for Itachi to leave the room. She stared at him, and he stared back. Neither was moving. "So…you leaving?" she asked not wanting to be rude. He tilted his head slightly to one side "No." "So you're just gonna sit there and watch me sleep?" He nodded and then grinned. "You're funny when you sleep." She could feel her mouth open in a shocked "o". Her cheeks turned a brilliant bright crimson as did her ears.

"You watch me sleep?!" She had attempted to sound angry but she couldn't not when he had that wonderfully beautiful crooked grin smeared across his face. He nodded again. "What's funny about how I sleep?!" He stopped and considered her question. "You talk, and you never lay still." She was furious but she couldn't express it in the way she wished. "What do I say…" she was timid as she asked her question. Her recent dreams had been full of nothing but Itachi and her. Fantasies that she could only dream. "You say many different things. One time you rolled over and said 'I can't hear cicadas'," he laughed. Cicadas. Out of the thousands of things she missed about Konoha, that was the thing she missed most, the sound of cicadas on the summer evenings. She hadn't heard any in the month she'd been at Kumo.

"What else did I say?" She was afraid of what the next answer might be. He walked over to her and crouched infront of the couch, still keeping a safe distance. "My name. You said my name once. It was incredibly clear, I thought you had woken up. But you rolled over and whispered my name again, like you were calling to me. Like you could sense me there and didn't want me to leave. That was the first night I watched you, which was three days after your first day at school. I came again, every night after that."

She stared into his eyes. She had never been this close to his face. The way the light of the room reflected off of his pale skin and cast a shadow over half of his face made him look like marble. She could feel the cool of his breath hit her face, the smell was heavenly. At such a close distance she realized that his eyes, when he wasn't having a mood swing, were not black but a deep blue. They were the color of the midnight sky, a beautiful dark deep indigo. She gasped and tried to keep still, not wanting to tempt him. He suddenly lifted his hand and moved it to touch Hanabi's face. His sudden swift movement made her flinch and he quickly withdrew. He looked hurt, and she regretted her instincts. A sad smile spread across his face, "Go to sleep Hanabi, I'll have to stay in the room with you. With all the vampires in the house I can't take the chance that one might try to sneak up for a midnight snack." Michel and Hidan had seemed nice…enough. They didn't appear phased by her at all. She brushed off Itachi's statement and tried to sleep, but the knowing that he was so close made her tense.

A wicked chuckle came from the back of his throat. She opened her eyes and she was alone… "Itachi?..." she asked, suddenly afraid. "Don't worry," the answer came from somewhere in the darkness of the room. "I'll be here; I'll never leave you, I promise." _You're going to wish you'd never said that_ she thought happily as she plucked that promise out of the air and locked it away in her heart. A promise that he himself was unsure he'd be able to keep as he stared at the young beautiful girl laid clumsily on his couch –her head tilted upward revealing her pale bare neck– from the darkness.


	8. The Other Uchiha

Chapter 8

The "Other" Uchiha

Itachi had taken Hanabi back to her world that morning. It was Sunday, no classes. He led her through the dormitory buildings. They walked for what seemed like hours. "Where are we going Ita-San?" He said nothing. They came to the door at the end of the hallway. Itachi stood infront of the door with an unsure look on his face. "Who is it?" Still no answer. He was motionless, as if he had been frozen in his place. Hanabi rolled her eyes and knocked on the door, she received a glare from Itachi for her action.

A few seconds past before the door opened. She couldn't think of what had made Itachi freeze up so, the person who opened the door didn't look that intimidating. He was a few years older than her; she had seen him walking the campus and even had a few classes AP with him. Though his face was incredibly familiar she couldn't recall his name. He had black hair, like Itachi's but this person's was short and in a sort of disarray. He also had the dark eyes like Itachi and the same chiseled shape to his chin. He traded glances from Itachi to Hanabi.

"What do you want?" was his simple hello. Itachi smiled nervously then asked to come in. After their access was denied he leaned in toward him, "I need your help…" The boy laughed. "What makes you think I would help you!" Their conversation wasn't exactly going according to the plan they had hoped. Get boy to help track down the man with the yellow eyes and get him to turn Hanabi back to her original self. But they were stuck on part one. Hanabi stepped in, "You see, my name is Hanabi Hyuga. I was bitten and now we need to find this man because he will turn me back to normal…at least that's what he think." Her intrusion didn't help. The boy flared his nostrils and glared at his upperclassman. "She's a feral?!" Itachi shook his head no. The boy stopped and sniffed the air and turned to her, his eyes suddenly the same bright red as Itachi's when he was angry.

He crouched over and stalked toward Hanabi. She was frozen with fear. The sight of the boy's lips curled over his teeth like an animal made her gasp. Itachi pushed her out of the way, and stepped in front of her. "Sasuke, please, help me. She isn't feral, I swear it!" Sasuke straightened, still glaring at both of them. "You girl! Are you afraid, terrified of us?! Do we repulse you?!" She looked up at him, his eyes wild, but full of something else, something she could understand. "No. I'm not afraid. I'm not repulsed this is what you are, and I don't mind." He scoffed, "And I suppose you want to be our friend or something? You want to be one of us?" The thought had crossed her mind the night before. Being a vampire, she wasn't exactly sure how she could be one without being whatever 'feral' was. But if she could, she could stay with Itachi, forever. She pushed her fantasies to the back of her mind. "We're monsters, freaks! You should be afraid! You shouldn't be disgusted! We're mindless creatures that kill everything and everyone special to us, so stay away. And you, Itachi. You sicken me…stay away from me. I thought I made that clear _years_ ago, you disgusting leech." Sasuke slammed to door on his face. Itachi stood motionless for a moment before turning and walking toward the courtyard.

Hanabi tried to keep up as Itachi walked as fast as _humanly_ possible. She found him sitting on the same bench she had discovered his secret on. His face was in his hands. She sat down on the opposite edge of the bench. "Itachi? Are you mad about what that boy said?" He ignored her. "It's not true, you aren't a monster or a freak or repulsive. You're a good person." He turned and laughed at her, "Just shut up Hanabi, you don't know what you're talking about." His harsh words stung lightly but she was used to his sudden painful words. "Tell me, why don't you two get along?" Itachi stood from the bench and let his hands fall to his side. "Come with me Hanabi…" He held his arms out, signal that he wanted to carry her, signal that he was planning on running. She reluctantly climbed into his arms as she swallowed one more time before he was running like a bullet. She buried her face into her stone hard chest as the wind whipped past them.

He stopped and set her on her feet. She observed her surroundings. There were in a meadow, surrounded by tall grass. It was beautiful; the sun was beginning to set as the stars were beginning to shine through. "It's beautiful out here, Ita-San!" He stood a few feet behind her, staring. His eyes locked on her, focusing in on her every movement. She sat in the soft tall grass and smiled at him, he approached and sat beside her. "Sasuke is my little brother." His sentence was short. She hadn't even asked, but he knew that's what she was wondering. "Years ago, many many years ago, when I was your age, I had a few human friends who didn't know what my family and I are. I let it slide one day, they thought it was cool, so they asked if I could turn them. So I did, they became feral. They became so thirty for blood they ravaged the town, killing humans and completely wiping out my immediate family. Only my brother and I were left. That's why he acted the way he did." Hanabi nodded, his story was short and simple. He didn't want to say anything about it that wasn't needed. With her question answered they sat in silence for a long moment.

Itachi suddenly looked at her again. "…What?" He frowned, "I'm leaving…" Her eyes widened. She clutched her chest to keep from crying. He was her best friend. Not just that she cared dearly for him. Itachi frowned. "You don't want me to leave?" "No! I want you to stay! To be by my side, forever. I want be with you!" She hadn't meant to spill her guts out to him like that. He smiled half heartedly, "I'm not leaving, don't worry. I just wanted to see you're reaction." She blushed. "Don't worry," he whispered to her. "I feel the same way."

He smiled brightly, showing all his teeth. "Well, since we've both agreed that I'm always going to be with you I think I should get used to you, get my beastie side to settle when I'm around you." She didn't fully understand what he was saying until he leaned in towards her. He shifted and knelt in front of her. "Sit still." He gently placed his hands in her cheeks and ran his finger tips slowly down her cheeks to her neck to her shoulders and down her arms. He leaned in and leaned his cheek against hers, the coolness of his skin against her made her shiver slightly. He ran his nose down her face and traced her jaw line. He leaned moved downward, even slower as he approached her neck. He gently ran his lips across the skin of her neck then down her collarbone. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. Itachi, still using liquid movements, moved his head down and leaned the side of his head against her chest and listened to the unsteady rhythm of her heart.

He leaned back and smiled at her. "Was it hard?" she asked him, her voice shaky. He shook his head. "Not as hard as I expected. I'm actually very proud of myself." She tried to smile back as her body stopped shaking. He laid back in the grass. He had unbuttoned his shirt and it now showed off his hard muscular chest and stomach. He stared into the twilight sky. Stars speckled the sky. Hanabi looked over at him; he looked like a statue as he lay motionless. "May I?" she asked as she made a move to touch him. He closed his eyes and nodded.

She scooted closer to him as she ran her hand over his cold chest. She ran her finger tips over his skin as she slowly made her way toward his shoulders. She leaned over him and moved to his face. She gently traced his perfect features. She outlined his mouth with her nail and she felt his lips open slightly and his cool breath rush past her fingers. She dropped her hand and leaned in toward his face so they were just inches apart. It was at this point that he opened his eyes and shot up.

He looked at her then down into this lap, "I should go…" Hanabi shook her head. "No please don't go," she pleaded. "I want you to stay with me." He looked at her, his indigo eyes shinning with sadness. "I know Hanabi. That's not right, I shouldn't want to be near you and you should feel the same way about me." They sat in silence as she waited for him to leave. He didn't move. Moments past as they stared at each other. "Hanabi…there's something I have to get off my chest." She held her breath, waiting to here him. "There's something about you that I don't understand…I've felt many things over the years, but never this. I've felt anger and guilt and hate. But never this, it's something I've read about though." She finally exhaled, she was beginning to get queasy. "Hanabi, for the many years I have been alive, I've always felt like I've had everything I've ever needed. I didn't think I'd ever need anyone besides my friends, Michel, Hidan, Zephr, Kneese, and Lalasa. But it wasn't until I met you that I realized how incredibly pathetic my life was. Hanabi, you are the most important thing in my life. I've tried to convince myself that it was just your blood that I liked, I convinced myself you'd never think of me the same way. But the night you said my name, it gave me hope. The thought that you were dreaming about me made me feel incredibly queasy, but it was a pleasurable sickness. "Hanabi, I've convinced myself over and over again not to get you in a quite place, somewhere nobody could hear you if you screamed…" he swallowed, his throat was beginning to run dry. "And I always think about what life would be like if you died. To see you cold, limp, your beautiful eyes open full of terror. To never be able to hear that nervous laugh you get every time I get too close, to never be able to see you blush crimson red or feel your warm soft skin against mine." She knew what he meant now. She looked down; their conversation had taken many turns. They were now confessing their inner feelings for each other? "Itachi… I'm sure you're not an idiot. So I assume you already know how I feel." She wished that she could have made her confession sound as sweet as his. Now she really did feel inferior.

She leaned against his chest. "The fact that you love a vampire, it makes me laugh." She frowned, "What do you mean?" He smiled sheepishly. "I've only had one other girlfriend, and that was years ago. Dating and courting are two very different things," he laughed. "I'm not human, I won't be able to do things you'd be able to do with a human male." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know Itachi, I bet you're better than you give yourself credit for." "I may not be human, but I am man," he laughed. They sat clinging to each other for a long time. It felt like hours. He ended it too soon. "I should probably get you back to the school." She sighed. She felt Itachi's body tighten beneath her, "I want to show you something, or teach you I guess."

She looked up at him questioningly. "Ever hear of shape-shifting?" She looked at him skeptical now, "What can vampires turn into bats?" He laughed at her, not realizing she was partially serious. "Purebloods like me can turn into any animal we want. Watch," he positioned her in front of him and closed his eyes. She saw him vanish; his clothes lay in a crumpled heap where he had been sitting. She looked around, "Itachi? Where are you?!" Her voice was alert, scared. She heard something behind her, she turned and saw a cat making its way through the tall grass.

She picked it up and looked at it. "Meow…" It looked full grown it had black fur and a white diamond on its head. She turned it around in her arms and parted the back legs, a boy. She cradled the cat in her arms as she looked around, still searching for Itachi. She stood and tried to find her way through the grass and the cat leapt from her arms and off into the tall vegetation. Now alone she couldn't breath, couldn't step. Which way had she come from? Where was she now? She saw rapid movement in the grass to her left side she turned to see what it was, nothing was there. "Boo." She jumped and fell to the ground. She turned to see Itachi suppressing a laugh wearing only his pants.

"What the HELL?!" He chuckled lightly, "I didn't think I'd scare you so. Sorry." She pulled herself off the grass. "Where did you go?!"

"I didn't leave."

"So where did you go?!"

"You've gotta guess!" She sighed and rubbed her temples. He laughed and gently grabbed her hand, sending shockwaves through her body. "So, now that you've determined that I am in fact a man, you try it." She looked at him, eyebrows creased in thought. She felt her skin get hot as she realized that the cat she had encountered earlier was him, Itachi. She replayed when she had split the animals legs open to determine the gender. "I've got to say Hanabi, I think that was the strangest moment of my- well not my life- but my existence. I've never had anyone do that, very strange indeed." She looked down embarrassed. He placed a finger under her chin and made her look in his direction, "Don't sweat it. We can try it back at the dorms okay? I want to show you something else before it gets too dark." As he spoke he was picking up his shirt and slipping his arms into the sleeves. He held his arms out to carry her. "I can run…" she pouted feeling inferior. "You can run, but not without tripping over your feet, and we're going to have to climb, which I'm pretty sure that you can't do," he chuckled. She rolled her eyes and hopped into his open arms. He laughed again before running his nose over across her scalp, inhaling the scent of her hair. And then they were running.

--

Kneese: Hey Megumi!?

Me: What do you want Kneese, I'm at school?

Kneese: Can you please tell me and the rest of your fans how to say my name cause I have no idea!!

Me: sigh Alright everyone, even some of my school friends have asked how to pronounce Kneese's name. Its pronounced "niece", silent "k".

Kneese: Oh! Alright thanks!!

Me: No prob, Kneese.

Itachi: WTF?!

Me: Oh my gosh what do you want?! I'm at school!

Itachi: How come you keep recycling me?! In your last story I was the father of a 15 year old. Now I'm dating one?!

Me: Of course you are Itachi, its called fandom.

Itachi: Urgh...well I do make a good vampire huh?

Me: Duh!

Itachi: What will I be in your next story?! A wizard or something stupid like that?!

Me: Actually I was planning on using you my bird series.

Itachi: Bird?...

Me: Dancing to the Beat of the Hummingbird's wings. It's gonna be a series. I've got too much planned to make it one story. I'm trying to think of titles for the next one. I think it's going to be Singing to the Mockingbird...

Itachi: Where do you come up with names for these stupid fics?!

Me: Well DTTB was inspired by the love Hanabi and you share throughout my story. We all know it's impossible to dance to the beat of an actual hummingbird's wings. The hummingbird is you. And Hanabi is doing all that she can to "dance" to your beat, to adjust to your style of life and replace it with her own. Its not really something you could guess at huh...

Itachi:...no...not really Chibi Tsu-Tsu Chan...

Me: Oh well...are we done now? It's the middle of the afternoon! I'm at school! I'll see you guys later tonight!

Itachi and Kneese: Bye bye Tsu Tsu chan!!

Me: Piece out homeslices! Tell Zephr I said hi!!


	9. Happy Place

Chapter 9

Happy place

_A/N:_

_I just wanted to give you guys a heads up, next chapter I think I'm going to start writing from Hanabi's point of view. So don't freak out when you start reading chapter 10. Thanks a lot, you guys!! Lots of love! 333_

_-Megumi Tsukazu_

Hanabi tried to focus on what was ahead of them, instead of the scent of Itachi that was wafting into her face as the wind rushed past them. That intoxicating scent that was too amazing to even have a name or title. "Where are we going?" she shouted above the sound of the rushing wind. "You don't have to shout, Hanabi. And it's a surprise, but if you liked the meadow you'll love this." She had completely forgotten about Itachi's acute senses. She didn't know how she forgot since they were running at sixty miles an hour.

She stared into the distance and she saw an elevation in the ground. She looked up about to ask Itachi, but he was smiling as if he already knew her question. They were right infront of the elevation she realized now at the close distance that it was a completely vertical wall of rock ahead. The distance between them and the rock wall was closing fast; she winced, waiting for the impact. None came. She opened her eyes and realized that they were perpendicular to the grassy meadow below. He was running up the straight rock wall. She looked down, regretting it instantly as her lunch churned in her stomach. "Close your eyes, it will help." She obeyed gluing her eyes shut as she clung to him, afraid they would fall backward at any minute.

She felt them even out and stop moving. He lowered her onto the grass, which was shorter here, but still just as soft underneath her feet. "Where are we?" she asked still confused. "This is a plateau, Hanabi." She recalled her seventh grade geography class, plateaus were land elevations that sometimes reached abnormal heights…_like this one_ she thought, scared stiff. He gently grabbed her hand and led her towards the west, she could tell because the sun was setting in that direction. They stopped and he looked back at her, his brow furrowed. "Close your eyes." She eyed him suspiciously, "Why?" She couldn't stand surprises. He smiled at her, one of his prize winning smiles that should be illegal if pointed at the female gender. She rolled her eyes before sliding her lids shut.

They walked a few more feet before Itachi told her to "step up", which she had. She felt a strong breeze rustle the top of her head. She was standing on the edge of the 

plateau she realized with unimaginable horror. Apparently Itachi noticed her spine stiffen and her digging her top row of teeth into her bottom lip because Itachi reached up into her ear. "Trust me, I won't let you get hurt…step up once more please," he asked sweetly. She hesitated. _He _had _said please…_ She stepped up again, slowly. She was hit full on with a burst of cold continuous air. "Oh!" she gasped. She almost opened her eyes but afraid Itachi would scold her she kept them closed. She felt Itachi's arm wrap around her waist. "Hold out your arms," his command was barely audible as he whispered it into her ear. So quietly. She raised her arms our to her sides and held them there, she was terrified she would fall, but Itachi held his arms out to his side as well, he wrapped his cold fingers around her warm ones. His body was right against hers, leaning toward the edge. It felt like she was flying, it was exhilarating yet scary at the same time. "Now," Itachi whispered again, "open your eyes."

He was right. This view made the meadow look like a nerds' scale replica of the Star Wars space station. The wind whipped past her skin and his and forced their long locks behind them. The sun was setting behind the mountains in the distance. Beautiful, it took her breath away, literally. She had to remind herself to breath. "Itachi…" she gasped. "It's beautiful!" She laughed loudly, not sure what she was laughing at but her smile made her glow. "It usually is, but with you here with me now, it makes me question whether I even know the true definition of beauty at all." She looked back at him and he was staring into her eyes. They stared in silence for ten long seconds before he said something.

"Hanabi…I was wondering. On the trip I was thinking about something…" he paused at leaned in toward her. "About?" she pressed, still smiling. He leaned in further, then paused, inhaling the air, her scent. Making sure he was under control, not his instincts'. The he pressed his lips against hers. They were hard and cold, like the rest of his body. But gentle in a way. His hands left hers and she turned around to face him. His hands brushed across her face and she raised hers to wrap around his neck. She pulled him against her, the skin on her face boiling under the surface. He pulled away and stumbled back, "Yeah…we'll have to work on that…" She blushed wildly. "I-I-I'm..." she stuttered, afraid he would be angry, or that he hadn't enjoyed the kiss as much as she had. _Of course he didn't enjoy it as much as I did, you moron. Why would he? He's lives in a house with two beautiful mythical creatures, duh he's made moves on at least one of 'em!" _Itachi's hands flew back to her face, cradling it in his palms. "I know what you're thinking, I know I can't read _your_ mind but your face tells me a lot. You're wrong. I _did_ enjoy it." She wanted to laugh but the smoldering look in his eyes mesmerized her. He pressed his lips to hers again, in a quick kiss and smiled crookedly at her.

It was the first time Hanabi could truly appreciate her full dorm and the fact that she had no roommate. Hanabi was spread across her bed; Itachi was behind her, leaning against her headboard. "So, what's your favorite color?" he asked her now. 

She rolled her eyes. He'd been asking strange questions like these for ten minutes now. "I don't know, I don't think I have one." He laughed. "Pick the first that pops into your head then." "Indigo," she said quickly. He looked at her, eyebrow raised, "Why?" She blushed. "It's the color of your eyes when you're happy." He didn't react to that. Just stayed straight faced.

"Zephr said something about there being different types of vampires. Can you tell me about that?" she asked nervously. Itachi wrapped his arms around her waist and inhaled deeply. "Well, first there are pureblooded vampires, whose linage as far as the records go, which is about the early 1400's, is vampire. Purebloods are revered in the vampire society, since we have some special powers that other vampires don't have. The Uchiha's are pureblooded, we date back to the late twelfth century.

"Then there are nobles as well. One step below purbloods, but nobles usually have human blood somewhere along the way. They dilutes some of the powers that they have already and robs them of powers they would have if they were purebloods. And Nobles age a bit slower than purebloods. Edmund for example," he spit the name. "he's a noble. His father, Luke, you saw him in the council the other day, he's a pureblood. His mother, Carlie, was a human. I had the pleasure of meeting her before she died." Hanabi tried to picture Edmund with a mother, someone to keep him in line. She couldn't. Someone sweet and caring who would keep care for him. She could picture the Movacks as a family, they were too harsh.

"Then there are ferals." At the word feral his spine stiffened. She had heard the word so many times in the past two days but still had no idea what the meaning was. "Feral is the term for a vampire who used to be a human. When a human is bitten by a vampire and venom is injected into the victim they eventually become a vampire as well, but they are called feral. These vampires are very different from the rest. They are completely obsessed with the need to hunt, to feed. That is their passion and since we try to stay incognito, and it gets a bit hard when ferals are running ramped massacring towns. So ferals are disposed of as quickly as possible." She cringed. Understand now why Itachi acted the way he did when he heard about her dream.

"So…how old are you _really?_" he asked, determined to know. He smiled at her, "I'm wondering, would it disturb you?" She shrugged, she didn't care when he was born, he could be a million and she wouldn't care, she loved him, that wouldn't change. "I was born in Coppedge in 1840." He looked at her trying to access her reaction. She smiled widely, "Cool, I'll try to remember that when I've got history projects!" He laughed lightly. She yawned involuntarily. "Bedtime Hanabi." She sighed, frustrated. "I don't wanna go to sleep." Itachi pulled her out of his lap and lay her down beside him. She didn't realize how tired she was until her head hit the pillow. She closed her eyes, but the thought of him lying beside her kept her awake. "Come on, go to sleep love." 

He kissed her forehead and began humming a tune, repeating it over and over. "Good Night." That was the last thing she remember saying before she fell into a pit of sleep.


	10. Hunting, Shopping, and Music

Chapter 10

Hunting, shopping, and music

I awoke from my wonderful slumber suddenly. I was sweating, something I normally didn't do while sleeping. I remembered turning the A/C unit off, sleeping next to Itachi, your own personal freezer pack, was enough to make you shiver. So when I woke soaked in sweat, I knew he was no longer at my side. Maybe in my kitchen, perhaps he got hungry? What did vampires eat when they craved something besides blood? I tried to focus again. I sat up and looked around. My sleeping eyes barely staying open. I didn't see him immediately. I got up and exited the bedroom to look in the kitchen/living quarters. Not their either.

I passed by the clock and did a double take. I stared at the bright green numbers that shone brightly on the front of the small box. The numbers seemed to shout at me, 2:45. I looked at the window, the blinds were pulled closed but I could see some brightness outside. It was the middle of the afternoon?! Why didn't he wake me up?! I ran back to the bedroom to throw on a new uniform, the one I had fallen asleep in was barely acceptable.

As I was searching for my hairbrush to tame the mane that was called my hair I spotted a lone piece of paper on my bed. I approached and examined it in my hand. Written on the front in absolutely perfect calligraphy it read To Miss Hanabi Hyuga. I unfolded it and read the note Itachi had left me.

_I know you're probably angry with me for not waking you. But you had a long weekend. Like I've said before, it is healthy to skip some classes every now and then. Sleep well Love. I will come and get you when school is over. We're going to Coppedge. I have some business to take care of, something about this place seems off. I don't want to leave you here alone and with my brother and Edmund about. We will be in Coppedge for a few hours; you will stay with Kneese and Michel while I'm away with Hidan. So bring something to entertain yourself. Stay safe in the few hours while I'm gone. You come off as the type who finds danger in a padded cell. So please say safe and don't answer the door. Like I said, something feels off. Keep my heart safe while I'm away Hanabi, I left it with you._

I noticed how he had messily scribbled Edmunds name on the paper and giggled. But what could possibly be off about today? It seemed like just another day to me, and then remembered the fact that I had the most amazing person in the world. I was his and by some shocking come of events, he was mine. I looked through the blinds, nothing looked different. It was cloudy, as usual. Kumo was in the one place in the world that the sun apparently forgot.

Fifteen minutes. Not really worth getting on a new uniform for. I hopped in the shower, hoping to wash off the musk smell from the sweat before Itachi came. I knew when he'd said "when school ends" he meant no later then 3:01. The smell of my shampoo, lavender, and the feel of the hot water panging against my back calmed me. The thought of him and Hidan alone together made me shiver. But I pushed that thought from my mind quickly.

I stepped out of my shower and looked at my cell phone, well my pathetic excuse for a cell phone. My dad and his morals, apparently I would have to wait until I proved myself a responsible adult to receive my cut of the inheritance. He didn't care if I was forty and didn't have the money, he would wait, and I was sure that if I still hadn't inherited the money before my father died the job would be passed on to Neji, who would be even more harsh than my father. I was the second heir of one of most wealthy families in Konoha, yet I had the crappiests things. I was fifteen, and had no car. My cell phone looked like something from the early nineties, when they had just begun to believe that the smaller the better. Not to mention I lost connection every three steps. The only update electronic I had was my Ipod, which I had bought with my own money. The small digital clock on my cell phone read 2:59.

"Crap," I said as it changed to 3:00. Sure enough I heard a voice in my room, though I had not heard the door open at all. "Hanabi? You here?" I didn't move, didn't breath. My clothes lay on my bed, laid out for me to change into. I was dripping wet and in a towel, the word towel was being used incredibly loosely. It came to my high thigh and had holes in it. The knock made me jump. "You okay Hanabi?" his voice was worried. "Close your eyes!" I shouted. I could almost hear his eyebrows furrowing. "Why?" I clenched my teeth, trying not to blush. "I'm naked! Close your eyes!!"

He chuckled. He was laughing at me. I opened the door and scurried to the bedroom and changed. Once I was decent in my jeans and tank top I came to meet him in the living room. "You ready?" he smiled up at me. His illegal smile, the one I loved almost as much as I loved him. "Almost" I said, trying to work a smiling as stunning as his. I knew it would never be as beautiful, that was a bit discouraging…

I ran to my closet and pulled my purse out, with my Ipod and my books and homework, which Itachi had thoughtfully brought me. "Itachi, can you lift me for a moment please?" I asked innocently. Surprisingly, to me at least, he didn't ask questions but just complied. He held my waist with his iron hard hands and lifted me and set me on his shoulder. I frowned at him. "I'm not too heavy am I?" He barked a laugh, apparently that was a no?

I riffled through my junk. Looking for something I hadn't seen in a few months. I smiled as I spotted it in the very back of the top shelf. I pulled it out and saw an almost even layer of dust on the case. Itachi placed me back on level ground. "You play the violin?" He seemed pleased. It was strange how excited he was to see my case. "No, fiddle actually." His smile was unchanging as he pulled out the necklace I had seen that night. The night I discovered the truth.

For the first time I got a good look at it. It looked like it was made of silver and there was a small pendant on the chain. The pendant was a small diamond shape; in the center was a carved rose. It was incredibly beautiful. "What's this called?" I asked grabbing the pendant as Itachi moved to wrap the long chain around both of our necks. "It's called a skipper. It's used to move between this world and my world. They come in different means, I have one painted on the garage door of my house in Coppedge," he said smiling. He wrapped his arms around my waist and told me to close my eyes. I wasn't as shocked this time as I had been the first time I had been transported using the strange devise. The pressure against my skull didn't seem so harsh this time.

When I opened my eyes we were in a garage. It was hard to imagine technology in this world. It just looked so seventeenth century! But sure enough there were a few cars in this garage. It looked like it used to be a ballroom, it was overwhelmingly enormous. There were three cars, two motorcycles, and two trucks. "Which one is yours?" I asked curious. Not that I knew much about them, I just wanted to seem interested. He pointed towards two cars near the corner. One was something simple. It was a dark blue color, to match his eyes. Small and compact. The other was something I could actually recognize. It was a Porche. I looked it over; it was a dark crimson red. "You own a Porche?!" He laughed at me as he led me to a door that supposedly led back into his house. "One to blend in, and one to rub in," he laughed.

He led me into the living room, I hadn't noticed the television in the room the last time I had been here. Michel and Kneese sat next to each other; Zephr sat on the far side of the room on a comfy looking chair. When Kneese spotted me she smiled brightly and darted forward. "Hanabi, we are going to have the best time ever! I am so excited, I haven't had a girls' day in months! Hidan never wants to go anywhere!" I stiffened. A girls' day? Did he seriously think I was the girly type? Okay yeah, I had been raised in the world of dresses, but that was necessary, I had always been asked, along with my family, to attend parties and things like that, but I was never the type who did back flips a the thought of shopping.

The look on Kneese's face made me feel guilty for thinking of turning her invitation down. "Yippee!" I said trying to sound enthusiastic. "We going to the mall?" Itachi growled at Kneese. "Don't get your panties in a bunch! I'll be with her, I won't let anything bad happen to her." It looked like Itachi believed her. But it couldn't picture Kneese fighting, or even defending herself against an attacker. "Hanabi?" an unfamiliar voice was calling my name. I turned and looked at who it was. I saw nobody. "Over here!" the voice was coming from my shoulder. It was like Lalasa. A pixie, I think it was called. "Um…yes?" I asked, nervous for some reason. He bowed. "My name is Karin, I was assigned as your pixie by the Council of Noble Vampires."

He was the same height as Lalasa, but he wasn't glowing red, like she did. He was a brilliant white. His fragile looking wings fluttered slowly, but he stayed at the same level. He rose from his bow and smiled at me. His face was that of a teenage boy, thirteen at the most. I smiled back, he seemed nice. "It's nice to meet you Karin, thank you so much for agreeing to be my pixie." I wasn't sure what exactly a pixie did but I didn't want to be rude. "Karin, Hanabi and I are going out, so if you would like you can stay here, with Lalasa." Karin nodded happily and retreated up the stairs.

I turned to find Itachi, he was in different clothes. "Alright, Hidan lets go." Hidan was down the stairs in seconds. She was wearing sturdy looking jeans and a large t-shirt, her long burgundy hair pulled away from her face in a ponytail. "I'm ready, lets get going while the game is still fresh," she smiled. It was the first time I'd seen her do that. Itachi was dressed close to the same way she was, jeans and a t-shirt. "Where are you going?" I inquired. Itachi grinned at me, "Hidan and I haven't eaten anything in a few days I'm starved personally. So we're off to hunt." Hunt? So that's how they got food, it was so simple yet I was surprised. "Well don't let me keep you waiting, bring me back a prize," I laughed at him. He wrapped his arms around me, embracing me in a cold hug. He planted a light kiss on my lips and rushed out the door, at superhuman speed, with Hidan close in tail.

I returned late, around eight maybe? It surprised me how much fun I could have with Kneese. She was definitely my new best girlfriend. How easily we could get along?! She truly sympathized with me, she could imagine how difficult it was for me to wrap my head around everything I had learned in just a matter of days. I could have girl talk, clothes, food, make up, boys. It was so strange but fun!

To my surprise I learned that she and Zephr were together. Something I couldn't bring myself to picture. Sweet small fragile Kneese with sarcastic loud and overbearing Zephr. She laughed when I had accidentally projected this thought into words. "Zephr can actually be very gentle, very sweet." I looked at the way her eyes softened as she described him. It was the same way she felt about Itachi. The eyes that told that he was the only one she would every feel so strongly for. The only man who she would ever look at or think about. Zephr Woodmere. I was spacing out when I heard her say something 

about Itachi being happy. "Of the seventy years I've know Itachi, I've never seen him as happy as I have now. I'm glad you're part of his life!"

As they entered the home they heard nothing. It sounded empty except for the creaking on the ceiling, indicating someone was upstairs. "We're home!!" Kneese shouted up the stairs. I set my shopping bags down near the dinning room table and approached yet another thing I had failed to notice. The grand piano that was pushed against the glass wall was absolutely amazing. It was large, black, sleek looking. The ivory keys looked freshly polished. I sat down at the bench and ran my fingers across the keys. I hesitated before I began to play. Deciding what I would play, I suppose.

A tune rang in my memory, the tune Itachi had hummed to try to coax me to sleep to. It seemed so familiar, like I had heard it thousands of times during my childhood. I paused again, trying to hear it again, making out each note. Then I began playing. I started playing the harmony then mixed in the melody underneath it. It was beautiful. I listened to the music fill the room; I closed my eyes to get the feel of it. It flowed through me and like many things in the world, it reminded me of Itachi and me. The harmony would never be me. I was just too normal, to plain to be heard above everyone else. I was the melody, the low soft music in the background that enhanced the beauty of the harmony. Itachi was my harmony, without it the melody sounded boring, plain, nobody wanted to listen to it. But mixed with the perfect harmony it mixed to make the most beautiful music. I felt words fill my mouth and let them flow out. "Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose. Will I ever see thee wed? I will marry at thy will sire, at thy will…" I'm not sure how I knew the lyrics, but I did. I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned and saw Itachi, staring wide eyed at me. "How do you know that song?" he asked, his voice soft.

I shrugged. "It's what you hummed last night, right?" He nodded, taking a seat beside me. "It sounds very familiar. I think I've heard it before." He looked a little confused but dropped the subject. Itachi took up the melody and let me continue playing the harmony. "I didn't know you could play," I said, frowning slightly. He smiled and nodded happily. "I'm not big for piano, I'm more of a cello man if I do say so myself." I smiled at him and continued playing in silence.

After a few seconds he broke the silence. "So, what are you doing on Friday?" he asked. I shrugged, "nothing really why?" He smiled, excitedly, like he had won the lottery. "Did you want me to take you to the Halloween dance?" That made me freeze. I had forgotten he didn't know about the Hanabi/Dance factor. Dancing was something I just didn't do. It was like trying to make a squirrel jump rope, it just wasn't possible. "NO! Itachi, I don't dance, sorry if I just ruined your weekend plans, but it's just something that I don't do." Itachi laughed and kissed my forehead. "Don't worry, I won't make you go. Maybe you and I could get out of town for the weekend?" I frowned. What would my dad say? Would he agree to let me go out for the weekend with my "boyfriend". Yeah right, like that was all he was to me. He was much _much_ 

more. And as for being out of town all weekend with someone of the male gender? Ha! Maybe if he was drunk and on crack and in the middle of an orgy? But who said he had to know? My birthday was inching closer, I should get an early present, right? Like I didn't already consider Itachi my early birthday and Christmas present for the next millennium. "Sure," I said, thought my voice was every but.

"Oh, your birthday is coming up, isn't it?" he asked. I had prayed that he wouldn't mention my birthday. "Yeah, why?" His illegal smile again, darn it… "I need to get you a present" he said, like it was obvious. "Nu-uh! I'm not letting you get me anything!" He looked taken aback by my sudden outburst. "Why not?" I glared at him, "I've got you. I don't need a present, besides I'm not letting you waste your money on me!" He looked at me like I had lost my mind. I felt him reach around and dig into my back pocket, making me squirm a little, and pulled out my early nineties cell phone. "Are you serious? Hanabi, I there when cell phones first came out. This is way worse than anything I've ever seen. At least let me buy you a new cell." I shook my head, not a chance. "Fine," he said, with a hint of triumph in his voice. "I'll find a loophole." I glared at him again.

"So how was your hunt?" His mouth straightened into a line. "Why?" I shrugged, still playing. "I'm just curious. So what's your favorite food?" I heard him chuckle like I was missing the punch line to a funny inside joke. "Well, I sort of followed Hidan around today. I can never get much good hunting done when I'm with her."

"Why not?"

"Hidan is into the small game, her favorite is falcon. And despite the wingspan on those little demons you would be surprised at how little blood is in that body." I suppressed a chuckle. I'm not sure why I found that funny but I did. "So what's your favorite, and what about Michel?" He looked over at me, smiling wide, his teeth were sending a glare across the room. "Michel is big for panda. I'm trying to get him into something a little less endangered." I gasped quietly. Of course that didn't escape Itachi's notice. "As for me, I like shark. Since Michel and Hidan are land lovers I don't usually get to have any, is that very fair?" he asked grinning.

The thought of Itachi wrestling a great white made me grin. "So," I began. "You think I'll be able to go with you sometime? Ya know, to observe?" Apparently Itachi had lost of practice with. The only reason I thought this was because the keys didn't smash to a billion pieces. He smacked his hands down on the piano and looked at me wide eyed. "No!!" I recoiled. I little shocked from his reply. I watched his rigged spine relax and he slumped over again. "Sorry, I have a problem with my temper…I'm sure that you've noticed. But I don't think I'd ever let you come with me hunting." He stopped and glanced at me, smiling shyly. Then his expression hardened, "When we hunt we give ourselves over to everything we suppress to live among you. We allow all of our emotions to infuse themselves with our instincts and that's when we become real monsters."

I couldn't stand when he said things like this. Since I discovered the truth. I would have to grind my teeth whenever he referred to himself as "monster". I didn't like when he got like that, he wasn't the scary beast that he thought he was. He wasn't a thriller extra gone wrong, he was prince charming! I would never and could never be afraid to be around Itachi. He was my life. I gently traced a circle on the back of his ice cold hand. His gaze, which had drifted to the floor, now slowly, flowed in my directions. I heard him sigh and I drew my hand back. "No," if I hadn't have had my super-special-acute-hearing I probably wouldn't have heard his mumble. "You have no idea how wonderful that feels the warmth of your skin." I blushed; I couldn't stand how easily he made me do that.

I looked at him again, "It's late, I should probably get home." He looked at me and grinned, "Sorry. I keep forgetting you sleep. I should probably get a bed in my room for nights you have to spend the night." I frowned, "No, don't spend your money on me. You couch is perfectly fine." That was a lie, his couch was comfy, but the crick in my neck told me otherwise. "Hanabi, you are by far the worst liar I have ever met," he laughed. "And besides, it's not like I'm going to run out of money, we've all got hundreds of thousands of dollars in our band accounts." My jaw dropped. It wasn't like I had never seen that much money, but she wouldn't have guessed he had so much. "How?" I managed to choke out. His smiled widened, showing his gleaming white teeth.

"With centuries behind your belt and a sister who can see the future, you can get a nice bit of cash in your wallet with help of the stock market," he winked at me. _(That goes straight to Stephanie Meyers, not my idea!! Its all her.)_He grabbed my hand and led me to the garage again, I stopped and grabbed my bags on the way out. We stopped at the large garage door and I looked at him, about to ask why. He was staring at me. After a few seconds I got the drift and stood on my tiptoes, attempting to stretch as far as I could to reach his lips. He tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips against mine.

I probably should have been able to control myself this time. I had learned my lesson the first time. There was no excuse. I pushed myself against him, wanting to be as close to him as I could. He pulled away again and stepped back. I hadn't realized how close I had been to running out of breath. My chest heaved up and down, sucking in oxygen. "Hanabi," he breathed. "Sorry." I wasn't.


	11. The Parents

Chapter 11

The parents

The week passed by incredibly quickly. On Tuesday I began getting recognized even more, maybe it was because I was hanging out with one of the most popular senior? But when I asked Itachi about it he would always shake his head and say "you would be better not knowing". Neji nearly flipped when he saw me with Itachi. Apparently he didn't think that Itachi was 'the right type' for his little cousin. Of course he didn't know that I was going out of town for the weekend with him. Nobody did.

Friday morning I woke up excited, I didn't bother wasting my time looking for Itachi in my dorm, he wouldn't be there. He had left again for the third night in a row to go hunting, by himself this time. I didn't understand why he had to hunt so much; he promised me it was necessary if we were going to be alone for a long amount of time though. I hopped in the shower, knowing there was no rush, Itachi would be gone until ten and I wasn't going to school today.

I was getting dressed when I heard a knock on my door. Urgh, who is that? I opened the door, not bothering to check the peep hole. A short slender boy stood on the other side. I recognized him from my pre-cal class. What was his name? He had short red hair that I could tell he bought at a pharmacy. His skin was sickly pale, all of his veins and tendons were visible through his placid skin. "Hey Hanabi! I heard you weren't going to be in today so I decided to bring you your calculus homework." I couldn't stand the sound of his voice. I know remembered his name, this was the annoying junior in my math class that felt the need to answer every question and read every bit of text in our books. To top it all off he was barely passing the class.

"Heeeeeey, Leon. Thanks," I grabbed my books, not wanting him to stick around. Ten was inching closer and I didn't want Leon to be here when a vampire hopped through my third story dorm window… "No problem," he smiled. Urgh he was one of the much too helpful types. "They said that you called in sick. You don't look too sick, you sure you can't come in today?" I forced a smile and batted my lashes, "No, I'm not sick, I'm going out of town. So I'm trying to get ready." He stared at my face a few seconds before continuing.

"Oh, do you want help?"

"With what?"

"Ya know, packing, engine problems."

"Oh, I'm going with someone. I'm sure they've got everything covered, but thanks for offering." I hopped he would leave soon. I could see the clock through my peripheral vision, it read in bright green numbers 9:56. "Oh? Who are you going with?" I wish I was mean enough to slam the door in his face. I wish I could be mean like Itachi could be. I wish I were intimidating. I swallowed before answering, I didn't have to give the exact name…did I? "I'm going with my boyfriend, we're going to visit his…cousin." I saw his face drop when I said boyfriend. Hopefully that would get him to leave. "So you and Uchiha are dating?" How the hell did he know that? Something hit me hard. Was I the talk of the whole school? The super-smart freshman who was dating the super-smart, super-hot, super-intimidating senior. Was my trip being talked about? If they knew who my boyfriend was, did they know I was going out of town with him? "Yup that's right, well I've really got to go know, thanks for dropping off my homework Leon." I shut the door before he could say anymore.

I glanced at the clock again. 9:58, perfect. I was slipping on a pair of flip flops when I heard another knock on the door, it sounded urgent. I rolled my eyes before answering the door. Please, please, I begged. Don't be Leon. It wasn't the pale skinned red-haired boy. The one on the other side of my door was a tall figure; it had long black hair and bright blue eyes. "Why hello Hanabi," it was Edmund. I considered closing the door and locking it before he had the chance to step inside. I knew he would probably just punch the door off its hinges if he really wanted in. "Yes, something you wanted?"

He just grinned at me. I couldn't stand his face. It was long but child-like. I couldn't stand the look he gave me all the time. "I was just wondering were Uchiha is, he's been gone for the past few nights. You wouldn't know where he is, would you?" I rolled my eyes, "Like I'd tell you where he is." I started to close the door but he caught it before I could. I saw him reach behind him and pull something out. It was large and silver. He moved it too quickly for me to see the fine details of the object. He placed the end against my neck and I realized what it was. A pocket knife, silver. I froze and tried to catch a glimpse at the clock which now read 10:01. Why was it today he decided to be late?

"Do you know what silver does to vampires, Hanabi?" I wanted to shake my head but I was frozen, not wanting to cut myself. Apparently he knew my answer though. "There are very few things that can actually hurt us. Silver happens to be one of them." I emphasized this by pushing the blade against my neck. "I heard that you're supposed to be some kind of royal. My dad explained it all to me a few nights ago. They all think that you're the last heir?" He was talking to himself now. I could tell. I could run, but I still hadn't mastered my super-speed running yet. I could manipulate wind, which Itachi had informed me a few nights ago. But I still didn't have a good handle on that either. I heard a whooshing sound behind me then a low growl. That's when Edmund's eyes switched from me to over my shoulder.

Edmund drew back his knife, smiling. "Itachi, I was sent to bring you a little message. Here you are," he placed a small white piece of paper in Itachi's hand than ran down the hall before Itachi had the chance to rip him to pieces. I looked back at him, his eyes were glowing red. His mouth was pressed together in a hard line and his jaw was tightly clenched. I wrapped my arms around him smiling, "Ready to go?" I asked as he opened the paper. He attempted to smile back, "Yeah…I guess. My car is our front." He grabbed my hand and led me towards the open window. I hopped into his arms as he jumped from the three story window and landed in the soft grass below. Surely enough his car was in the parking lot. I was hoping he would let us ride with the comfort of _not_ being stared at the whole way to wherever it was we were going. No, I should have known better. The car parked in front was his long red convertible Porsche. I rolled my eyes as he threw my bag in next to his in the trunk and then opened the door for me. How could anybody be so annoying yet so charming at the same time?

As I climbed in a thought crossed my mind. "Where are we going? You never did tell me." He closed the door and was on the other side in a matter of sub seconds. "We're going to Kurai. Kai-El and Domonic went up there a few weeks ago on business. But their not due back for a few months. I can't wait much longer you've got to meet them now!" He looked extremely excited about me meeting these two people. "Who are they?" He started the car and backed out of the parking lot and onto the main road and locked the doors before he answered me. "My parents."


	12. Scary

Chapter 12

Scary…

I don't know which was more frightening, the way the dial of the speedometer was steadily planted on the number 120 or the fact that we were racing down the highway to meet Itachi's adoptive parents, who were probably drop dead gorgeous, super smart, and would, I was sure, completely disapprove of me. Though Itachi thought different, he would say things like "They'll love you" or "If I care about you, so will they". I seriously doubted that…

"Itachi…I seriously doubt that they are even going to consider me for you." He turned and looked at me, his eyes blazing red. He pulled over to the side of the highway and stopped abruptly, lets just I was glad I was wearing my seatbelt… He stared at me and I stared back, afraid to break eye contact. He leaned in toward me and cradled my face in his cold beautiful hands. "Hanabi, they would _never_, no _could_ never hate you. Hanabi, my parents love me and want to see me happy. This is the first time they've seen me so ecstatic, they would never take away the one thing that makes me happy. _**Ever."**_ He pressed his lips against mine in a steady gentle, reassuring kiss. He broke away too soon and smiled at me. I turned away, "I'm still worried…" I heard him chuckled mockingly.

He stroked my jaw line with his fingertips and leaned in just inches from my lips, I could feel his cool breath being pushed in and sucked out of my mouth. "Still worried?" I could barely breath… "What if I say something stupid?" He let his hands trace down my face and down my neck all the way to my waist. "And now?" I sucked in as much air as I could. My heart was pounding in my chest as he pulled me by my waist closer to him. "Yes," I mumbled, barely audible. He tilted his head so that his lips rested gently against my throat. "No need to worry, I'll protect you." He leaned away and pulled the car back onto the highway. My heart was still having irregular palpitations…

I looked out the window, trying to calm my heart. I was still worried, still incredibly anxious about meeting the man and woman, err…vampires that raised Itachi, my own personal miracle. I felt Itachi wrap his long cold fingers around my fist and begin drawing circles with his thumb on the top of my hand. _He's trying to make me feel better…_ I now felt guilty; he was worried about me being worried. I knew Itachi was absolutely ecstatic about me meeting these people, now he was worried that he was putting me on the spot!

"Itachi, if Hidan and Zephr don't like me then what makes you think that your parents will? I mean, even Michel is kind of iffy about me." He glanced at me, confused expression. "What makes you think that Zephr and Michel don't like you?" My jaw dropped into an "o". "So Hidan does hate me!" I stared at him in shock. He groaned and squeezed the ridge of his nose. I could tell by the expression on his face he regretted saying anything. "Hidan is…she's just a bitter person. She's got some history, its difficult for her to be around humans, especially females, that's why she doesn't enjoy leaving Coppedge."

"Explain to me then, because I haven't done anything to her!" He sighed and sped up, like he was in a hurry to end our conversation. "Hidan is something that we call a white-blood. A white-blood is a human with no trace of vampire blood in her system, but for some reason at age twenty-one they change, sort of transform into a vampire. Their body changes and their hearts completely stop beating, she's the only one of us who knows what it's like to be human and she misses it. I don't know the feeling but I've asked her about it, she says that changing was the most horrible feeling in the world. Two weeks, two weeks she was in agony and she didn't know why. I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been for her, not understanding what she was. She must have felt so alone…" I glared at him now, "So why is she so mean to me? I still haven't done anything!" I saw him grin. I really couldn't stand how he always managed to smile while I was angry.

"Hanabi, haven't you been listening? She jealous of you. You are the one thing she can't be, human." My face relaxed as I contemplated that. Hidan, the world's manifestation of beauty itself, was jealous of me. Me!, the plain boring, okay looking Hanabi Hyuga… "Well what about Zephr and Michel?" Itachi actually laughed this time. "Michel fears for his existence. If he gets close to you, he gets chewed out by Hidan. So he's trying to keep her happy…I guess." The smile on his face was constant as he spoke, like I was missing the inside joke. "As for Zephr, he's had some bad experience with vampires. He's not exactly avoiding you just being cautious. He still can't get over the fact that you're _not_ feral. But I'll let you talk to Zephr about that one."

I turned to stare out the window again. "How much longer 'till we get there?" He laughed again, "Hanabi, we've only been driving for thirty minutes! We've got four more hours!" I groaned, it was taking way to long. "Why does Michel care about what Hidan says?" I was curious at this point. I was hoping he would actually tell me. "Well someone is nosey, huh?" I smiled teasingly. "What can I say? Curiosity kills the feeble little human."

"It's something called Bondage. It usually occurs in creatures like werewolves or fairies; you don't see it very often among vampires. Bondage is kind of like the human theory of 'love at first site'. It's the most unbreakable feeling in the universe, there is nothing that can occur to change the feeling. It's the constant feeling that you have to be near that one person, when you know you would do anything for that person to ensure their happiness. You hold this person above everything else, even yourself." It sounded kind of 'Sleeping Beauty'-ish. "So that's what they are? Michel is 'Bonded' to Hidan?" He shook his head, "No, Hidan is bound to Michel. It's kind of sweet, my little sister is finally my little sister and not the school girl with a crush on me." He looked like he was trying hard to suppress laughter. It didn't surprise me to hear that Hidan had once liked Itachi. I was surprised that he 'assumingly' turned her down. "You sound well informed about Bondage, Ita–kun. How is that?"

He slowed down. I saw the dial of the speedometer gently ease onto the number 90. Still a little fast for my taste… "I've been through bondage. I know the feeling of it. Probably the most pleasurable feeling that I've felt anyway, that's me the 168 year old virgin." He was smiling brightly, I laughed at his expression. "So who was it?" I was almost afraid of his answer, thought it was kind of stupid to be. He brought my hand to his face and kissed my fingers. "Who do you think? Now why don't you go to sleep, we've still got four hours." I smiled to myself as I scooted closer to him, leaning on his arm. I felt something ringing in my memory again. I began singing quietly. "Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose. Will I ever see thee wed-" "I will marry at thy will Sire, at thy will," he finished. His voice was different though, it sounded hard. I heard something I had never heard in his voice before. I heard fear.

--

I awoke to the rocking movement of Itachi walking. I opened my eyes to take in my surroundings. He was carrying me towards a house. It was build of brick and had two stories. I looked back at him, he was carrying both of our bags and smiling at me, "Welcome to the living." I rubbed my eyes, hopefully I didn't look unpresentable. I was about to meet his parents…oh joy. "Put me down, I want to walk in there on my own two feet; I want to show them I can carry myself, no pun intended of course." He set me down on the door step. I breathed in and out, making sure that I wouldn't pass out on their porch…

Itachi knocked on the door then entered without waiting for an answer. It was the middle of the afternoon, but it was cloudy, hazy. Inside the house it was cold and open. Like Itachi's home in Coppedge this home was incredibly clean and neat. "Kai-El, Dom, we're here!" Itachi called into the home. I stood behind him, scared stiff. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself again, when I opened my eyes there were two people standing in front of us.

Like I had expected, they were absolutely breathtaking. The man was tall but lean, like Itachi. He had red hair, it was natural, not like Leon's fake bottle color, this man's hair was an amazing scarlet. He had blue eyes and full lips and of course the rest of his features were perfect as well. He looked like he was bordering age thirty, incredibly young. The woman was a head taller than me. She had chocolate brown hair that was in bouncy curls. Her eyes matched her hair, chocolate brown. She was also beautiful, but in a way that made me feel good about myself. She looked so natural, her smile was brightly spread across her face. She even had dimples! She looked only about thirty as well. The only thing that kept me from believing they were royalty was the fact that they were both wearing faded jeans and t-shirts. "It is so nice to meet you Hanabi!" she said smiling. I smiled back, "Thank you for allowing me to come to your home, Ma'am."

She laughed at my statement, "Please just call me Kai-El, this is my husband, Domonic." I smiled at her husband. He offered me a hand to shake. "So nice to meet you lass." He had the strongest Irish accent I'd ever heard. I shook his hand, still smiling. I felt a little more confident. "If Itachi had told us he was bringing home his female friend we'd have definitely cleaned a wee bit more," he said throwing a look at Itachi. I scoffed, were they serious? Their house was like a stage home. I doubted there were even cobwebs. "Itachi, why don't you take your bags up to your rooms? I'll bet your hungry, why don't I fix you something to eat?" Kai-El asked. I nodded, realizing I was starving. I followed her into the kitchen, Domonic followed close behind.

"I'm sorry if our cookin' ain't up to snuff, we usually don't cook," Domonic said shyly. I shook my head, "Oh no, Sir. Thank you for everything. Please don't feel the need to change your routine because of me." Kai-El handed me a plate with grilled cheese steaming in the center. "You can call me Dom, and you ain't gotta be so formal lassie. We ain't nothin but a bunch o' old humble vampires," he laughed. Kai-El slapped Dom's shoulder, "Don't be so bothersome Dom! Leave her be." He held up his hands the way cops on T.V. do when approaching a suicidal. "Don't gotta be so hurtful Kai." She rolled her eyes and called for Itachi. He was down in two seconds. "Don't be rude Itachi, stay with us." He rolled his eyes and pulled out a chair next to me.

"I hope Itachi has been polite while we were away," she said to me. "I would hate to have you think me and Dom have raised a bunch of banshees." I laughed at her assumption. Like Itachi had a rude bone in his body. "Oh no! Itachi has been wonderful! I've learned so much from him, he's amazing." She glared at her son. "I would hope that Itachi hasn't been showing off in our absence." "Yeah," Dom threw in. "We wouldn't want our Itachi to show off to his girlfriend, that would just be too much I'm sure," he said sarcastically. I heard a growl echo in Kai-El's throat. Something in the corner of their living room caught my eye. A long beautiful cello. I looked at the curves of the wood and the string that lined it from top to bottom. "Do you play?" Dom asked me. I shook my head, not looking away. "Hanabi plays the fiddle," Itachi threw in for my benefit.

I turned back to him, "I've never heard you play the cello. Will you play for me?" He rolled his eyes, apparently that meant _later_. "Itachi, go play for her!" Kai-El insisted. "But you just said-" "Forget what I said, go play!" Itachi grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room and pointed to my fiddle case, I hadn't realized he had packed it… "Play with me?" he asked. "I wouldn't want to make your music sound crappy with my playing." He laughed, "Hanabi, I'm sure your not as bad as you say you are." He down in a chair and placed the cello between his legs and began playing. A deep sound filled the room as he played through a slow song. I like the sound of it, he kept playing in silence then the song changed. It sped up to a type of jig. I smiled as I watched his arm fly back and forth over the strings. The fluid motions seemed to appear in slow motion. He finished the song and I clapped happily. "Your turn." My smile turned upside down. "Punch line?" I asked. He grinned at me, "I haven't heard you play, I would like to." Urgh, that stupid illegal smile again. Why oh WHY did he have to be so charming?! Did he _want _to embarrass me infront of Kai and Dom?

I shakily pulled my fiddle out of the case and placed it under my chin. I didn't know what to play…I tried to remember something, some kind of music I had learned in my years of fiddling. I placed the bow against the string and let my arm flow quickly over them. Playing a fast exciting jig, the same as Itachi. The high-pitched sound of the fiddle filled the room and then mixed with something else. Itachi's deep cello played along with my fiddle. I laughed, not sure what was funny, but I laughed and Itachi laughed along with me, causing our song to halt. "See? Not so bad," he smiled. I grinned back as I placed my fiddle back in its case. "Mind if you show me my room Itachi?" He nodded and led me up the stairs.

"So why didn't Michel, Hidan, Zephr or Kneese come along with us?" He shrugged. "This is the first time in a while that Hidan and Michel are going to be alone, I suppose that Zephr and Kneese have evacuated to a safe place while the two vulgar vampires who don't have respect for others make the best of their 'alone time'. As for Zephr and Kneese, I actually think they're spending their weekend consulting the council." He turned down a wide hallway and led me to the end room. "This is the guest room, you'll stay here." I noticed he had already taken the liberty of unpacking my things. "Why are Kneese and Zephr talking with the council?" He reached in his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper Edmund had given him. He was grimacing… "The council has asked me to send a warning to the two reminding them of the laws of Coppedge." He led me inside to another room on the opposite end of the hall. "Why is that?" He opened the door. "This is my room. By elfish law, a woodland elf cannot mate with any creature besides humans or elves. They are probably screaming at the council as we speak…" I felt sorry for Kneese, I really did. I saw the way she looked at Zephr. The way her yellow eyes sparkled when someone said his name.

"So," I said as I strolled into his room and plopped down on his couch. His room had the same exact layout as his room in Coppedge did. "I have another question." He sat beside me, "You are a very intuitive person, aren't you? What is it then?" I looked into my lap, I could feel the blush spread across my face. "When you say 'mate', is it the same? For both humans and all the other creatures?" I had never heard him laugh so loud. It made me jump. "I would expect so Hanabi," he laughed. "Unless the process has changed since the beginning of time, yes, it's the same."

After he had recovered from his laughing fit he got up and walked to the door. "Tomorrow I'm taking you to the beach. You like the beach right?" he asked me. I nodded happily. I hadn't seen the sun since I'd moved to Kumo, much less seen a beach. He smiled at me. "Well don't get your hopes up. The beaches here aren't that much to look at." I followed him out the door and back down to the living room, where Dom was watching a football game on the television with Kai-El sitting beside him reading a book. Since I left Konoha I hadn't experienced anything that felt so normal, that felt so much like home. But why then did I feel scared, like something was soon going to spin scarily out of control?

--

It was late. Itachi and I had spent the whole morning at the beach, which, as he had informed the previous day, wasn't much to smile at. But I still enjoyed myself. He had offered to take me to the shopping mall, which I was somewhat excited about. "If you want something just ask, I'll buy it for you," he offered for the umpteenth time. I glared at him, "You are NOT buying me anything. I don't care what you want to get me, you aren't spending one dime on me!"

He shrugged as we walked by a few clothing stores. I wasn't used to the mellow surroundings of Kurai. Their shopping mall consisted of three clothing stores, a few book stores, and some souvenir shops. Itachi and I walked with our fingers laced down the sidewalk past a few more stores, he stopped at a book store window. He was staring at a book on display intently. "Do you want to go in?" I asked him. He nodded and pulled into the store. He dove into the books. There wasn't much that interested me here. "Can I walk around to find some store of interest? Maybe a souvenir shop?" He looked up from his book, "Sure, it's right around the corner and down a block. Stay safe, call if you need me." I rolled my eyes, "You can't trust me for even a few minutes alone?" He grinned at me, his whole face lighting up. He kissed my forehead before muttering "No."

I followed Itachi's instructions. Walking around the corner and onto an empty lot. Maybe I walked the wrong way? I turned back and went in the opposite direction. I was lost in thought when I realized I was walking again. I turned down a corner, but it lead to the open road. I walked down the sidewalk, the windows of these shops were boarded up. At the end of the sidewalk were a few older looking guys. Maybe they could offer me directions. I walked closer and got a better look at them. College students, I guessed. There were four, each had a bottle of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I walked past them, deciding that I could find better help elsewhere. "Hey!" one called to me. I turned around and looked at him. "Hi," I turned back to my route, hoping I would find the book store again.

"Wait just a minute little lady, where you going? Dontcha wanna stay and play?" he asked laughing. His mates joined in. I rolled my eyes, "Drunkards," I muttered under my breath. I heard footsteps behind me and began jogging. I turned down an alleyway and followed it out to another empty lot. The footsteps behind me faded and I could finally breathe again. "Hey again," said the voice. I turned and there he and his mates were. I wondered if I would be able to run using my 'super special powers' but then remembered that Itachi and his family needed to stay hidden. And I certainly wouldn't be the one to throw them under the bus and into the media light. I then wondered if I would be able to dial Itachi's cell phone number quick enough before one of these people took my phone away. I reached back to try it, but my pocket was empty. Dammit… it's probably in his car. They approached me and I sucked in a lung full of air, I _would _throw in a good scream before they touched me.

"Stay. Away." I looked behind them so find the voice. The voice of my miracle. Itachi stood behind them, his face was dark with fury. "Oh this harlot is yours?" the tallest one asked. Itachi growled at them, "Stay away from her!" Itachi approached me and clamped his large hand around my arm and dragged me away. He didn't look at me, not even after we left the lot. We turned down a few blocks and we were back at the shopping mall. I noticed how he was leading me to the car, not towards the stores. We were walking through the almost empty parking lot when I stopped and looked up at him. "I'm sorry," I whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear, how silly. "Hanabi, you did nothing wrong. I'm not angry with you," his voice was soft. I looked up and he was closer than I expected. "I'm not mad with you, I could never be mad at you, remember that." I looked down unsure then proceeded to the car. That was when I heard the screech of rubber tires against the asphalt and felt the wind pick up around me.

It all happened so fast after that. I turned and saw a large truck speeding at me, it was close, I turned to run but tripped over my feet. It was like a slow motion scene in a movie. I turned to take in Itachi's expression, his face was blank and I saw him begin to run toward me. I closed my eyes to brace for the impact but felt nothing. I heard the crunching of metal and felt the weight of something on top of me. I did however feel the force of something pushing my torso down, fast. I hit my head against the concrete, it sounded like it should have hurt, but it didn't. I guess it was the adrenaline. I looked over, searching for him. There he was. Itachi had forced himself between me and the car. I looked into the windshield, it was the men from before, all staring at us, gasping. They had seen… "Hanabi, are you alright?" Itachi's voice echoed in my ear. I tried to answer but couldn't. "Hanabi? Hanabi, can you hear me?" he sounded worried. I felt the coldness of his steel arms wrap around me and lift me into the air. Then the rush of wind past my face. I couldn't open my eyes to see where we were headed; instead I was enveloped in darkness.

--

When I woke again I was in a white room. I looked around for Itachi, where was he?! I needed him! I needed to apologize. "Itachi?" I called in a raspy voice. "Right here, Hanabi. Don't worry I'm here." He was at my side. He looked bad, I had never seen him like this before. He had dark circles under his eyes, like he'd been running on empty for days. He knelt beside the bed and began to stroke my face. "I'm so sorry," I said. The raspy sound of my voice made me sound incredibly pathetic I realized. Itachi held a finger against my lips, "Don't you start apologizing. You're the one who was almost run over by a truck."

I looked at him eyes wide. "You know that's not what I meant…you know they saw." He didn't break eye contact. I wanted to but I couldn't, his eyes were beautiful. "Hanabi, I don't care. I care about you, now would you please stop worrying about me and start worrying about yourself," he asked teasingly. "You're the one in the hospital bed, not I." I heard the door open, "Well well well. Lassie is finally up?" I turned to see Dom standing by my bed. He was wearing a white coat, Dom is a doctor? You've got to be kidding me, out of all the careers, I wouldn't expect Dom to be a doctor…

"Domonic, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to do this to your family, I really didn't." It all came out so quickly it caught both Dom and Itachi off guard. Dom closed the door and sat in the chair beside my bed. "Hanabi, I know you didn't mean to. I understand, you don't need to apologize, I'm positive you didn't mean for that truck to run you over," he chuckled. But I could tell that he wasn't has hearty as he was pretending to be. Apparently he picked up the fact that I knew that. "Hanabi, Kai-El and I aren't angry with you. I doubt that the rest of them will be angry either," it took me a few seconds to realize that by 'the rest of them' he meant Itachi's siblings in Coppedge.

I turned to Itachi, "So what happens now?" He smiled at me, as if tonight had never happened. "I take you back home tomorrow night. Hopefully you won't find a way to harm yourself further in the next fifteen hours. Monday is your birthday, you've _got_ to be home so that you don't miss your surprise party that your best buddy Kneese is throwing." I gasped, sucking in as much air as possible. "A What?!" Itachi covered his mouth mockingly. "Whoops, I've said too much." I sat up straight and clutched his shoulders in an attempt to shake him. I should have known that that would be impossible, he was like a giant marble statue. "You knew that she was planning a party?! Itachi I told you I didn't want a party!" He rolled his eyes and winked at me. "Actually you said you didn't want gifts, and besides, your turning sixteen, the big one-six! Be a sport and play along, oh and look surprised when you walk in, Kneese will know I told you otherwise." I glared at him. I heard Dom chuckled. "It's late Itachi, we should let Lassie sleep. You'll, Missy, will be sleeping in. Itachi, if I find that you woke her, so help me…" he didn't finish his sentence.

Itachi laughed and lifted me off the bed. He positioned himself underneath me then let me use him as a mattress. I rested my head against his chest without looking at him, I wanted him to know I still wasn't happy about the party. Dom walked out of the room and turned the lights off. "Hanabi, sleep well. Itachi, will you be okay here?" he asked before leaving. Itachi rolled his eyes, "Dad, it's fine. Don't worry. If I need help you're here, remember?" I was confused by the short conversation they were having. Dom left before I could ask. "What was that about?" I questioned Itachi. I heard him let out an exasperated sigh. "Dom was wondering if I was going to be okay at the hospital with you tonight. With all the sick patients and the blood, you can understand"

I realized the possibility was huge. "Will you be alright?" He chuckled. "I'll be fine. Don't worry, I'm not even hungry," he said kissing my neck. "Good night, Love," he whispered in my ear. "Good night."


	13. Happy Birthday

Chapter 13

Happy Birthday

I peered out the window. It was pouring buckets. What a wonderful way to start my sixteenth birthday. I heard a knock on my door and hurried to answer. Itachi was on the other side. "Happy birthday," he smiled. "Shh!! I wish you wouldn't say that outloud!" He rolled his eyes at me. We walked to school together. That drew attention. I was partially glad we weren't holding hands. My day progressed as normal, nobody knew it was my birthday, save for my cousin and sister, I had thought to swear Itachi to secrecy. Everything was normal, until lunch that was. As Itachi and I entered the cafeteria there was a large pandemonium. Something big was happening, not that I really cared. Neither did Itachi it looked like; he just rolled his eyes and kept walking.

We, as normal, sat alone at a table. The yelling from the entrance was starting to get annoying. "GET OUT OF OUR WAY!!" Both Itachi and I shot up and looked in the direction of the shouting, but with different expressions on our faces. The voice we had heard was familiar. We both knew who it was, though I didn't understand why she was here. Kneese walked forward, Zephr at her side. She practically skipped to our table, behind them were Michel and Hidan, I was not too excited about that. The commotion now made since. Four absolutely beautiful people just walked through the door of the school. Of course there was a commotion!

The four sat beside us at the table. "What are you doing here?!" Itachi looked like he was going to rip Kneese's throat out. She grinned at him, "Oh come now brother. I'm just here to visit my two favorite people in the whole wide world." I snickered at the way she puckered her lips at him. She then turned to me, "Happy birthday Hanabi!" She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. The memories of the party came flooding me again. I guess it was clear on my face because Itachi gave me a look which clearly read 'we had a deal'. When she finally released me she turned to Zephr and slapped his shoulder. "Where is it? Hand it to me." I saw something shiny pass from his hand to hers and then to mine. I grimaced at the sight of it. A gift… "Kneese, I can't have that." She glared at me, "It's your birthday! Take it!" I rolled my eyes as I lifted the box to my face and slowly opened the box. Inside was a digital camera. I was livid.

"Kneese, you can't honestly think that I'm going to keep this!" She looked at me, her face serious. "You better. I spent good money on it and got you a good plan. Hold on," she pulled out her cell phone. It was sleek, black. Looked like something a business woman would own. She stared at her cell phone for a small amount of time. Itachi groaned and Zephr and Michel just snickered. "There!," her sudden shout made me jump. "The return time is over," she smiled at me. I picked up the camera and examined it, reluctantly of course. I turned it on and then pointed it at Itachi. He grinned at me as the flash illuminated his face. That one was definitely a keeper. I glanced at him and grinned. "Itachi, say I go get this developed, will you be in the picture?" His response and that of those around was laughter.

"Thanks Kneese," I said to her smiling. "It's a really nice camera." She said it was no problem. I knew it wasn't, their family had enough funds in their bank account to use dollar bills as napkins. I looked at what she was wearing as I got up to dump my tray. The same thing I was, only her skirt was knee length. "Kneese…you didn't," Itachi groaned. "Why are you all wearing school uniforms?" I asked. Michel wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "We're all official students here at Kumo High!"

--

As my day carried on the party drew closer and closer. To my utter horror I discovered that Kneese had asked Neji and Hinata to attend my "party". At the end of the day I stalked off to my dorm. Luck had hit me once, Hidan had been assigned a dorm two buildings over, unfortunately so had Kneese. I fell into my desk chair then noticed a package on my bed. It was wrapped in brown and had a bow tied around it. I lifted it, looked for a return address. It was from my father. I hadn't heard from him since the day he'd dropped me off. Not even a phone call. I unwrapped the package slowly. Inside the box was a letter. I hastily opened it and read the one letter I had received from my father. I hadn't noticed how much I had missed him.

Hello Hanabi. How are you fairing at Kumo? I hear that you are excelling, that is wonderful. I am looking forward to learning of your grades soon. I've heard some talk about you and a boy at school. Itachi I believe his name is? I would hate for you to forget your duty to your family. I understand that you are young and you will have a fling or two. But remember that you are already engaged. Please don't do anything that would bring shame to the family. Remember that please. If anything should happen come tell me immediately.

Love,

Your Father

I fought back tears as I read the letter. So this was it? The only reason my father made contact with me? Because he wanted to remind me that I was part of an arranged marriage? Honestly, I had forgotten. Nobody knew outside the family that I was engaged. Now I was glad Itachi couldn't read _my_ mind. I cringed as I reread the letter. _Fling or two_. That's what this looked like to my father. If only he knew how much I truly cared for him. Hopefully he wouldn't push the matter. Hopefully I'd forget that he'd sent me the letter…Hopefully…

I opened the box that he'd sent me. Inside was a picture. It was old, I knew. My mother was in the picture. It was a picture of my family and a family friend. I was six, I remembered the trip. We had gone on a trip to the hotsprings. My father stood behind my mother. I was holding her hand, my other hand was in the grasp of another child. He was my height and had dark dirty blonde hair. I threw the picture down as I went to change. I was thinking about this too much. I hadn't seen him in what, was it four years now? Maybe more! I changed from my uniform and into some casual wear.

Like he had told me, Itachi was there by five. "You ready?" I asked as I moved for the door. Itachi wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into a hug. I chuckled, "What is this for?" I felt his body moved, he was laughing as well. "Just happy birthday." He pulled me out the door and down the stairs. "Where are we going?" I asked him. "My family has a house a few blocks away. That's where your 'surprise party' is. Remember, look surprised!" he smiled with mock enthusiasm. I rolled my eyes; he could really be so entertaining sometimes.

We drove for about ten minutes, that was only because Itachi insisted on trying to reach the speed of sound on four–wheel drive and premium gasoline. This house looked just like the one in Coppedge. This one however was down a dirt road and in the middle of nowhere as far as I knew. After Itachi parked he walked me to the door and stopped before opening it. He mouthed the word 'surprise' to me. He pushed the door open and I gawked at the main room. There were decorations EVERYWHERE. Kneese walked up, more like stomped up and glared at Itachi. "You _told_ her!!" He shrugged, "Hanabi doesn't like surprises." She stuck out her tongue at him and stomped off like an eight year old. There were presents on their dinning room table. Michel jumped out of nowhere and hugged me. That sent me tumbling backward, "Open mine first!" He screamed in my ear. Wow, Michel reminded me of a giant toddler. I half heartedly smiled at him and sat at the table. "Happy birthday Hanabi," I heard my sister's voice behind me. I stood and embraced her. "Yeah, happy birthday kid" Neji said to me. I returned to my seat and began to open presents. Not my favorite pastime, accepting things from friends.

Like promised, I opened Michel's present first. It was new cell phone. "Gee Michel, thanks." I enjoyed my new cell phone, but I began calculating the amount it must have cost in my head. "That's from Zephr and I," he smiled. I thanked them and then noticed that Hidan was nowhere to be found. Not very surprising. "Alright, Hinata, your present is next." I saw my sister grin at my cousin. Neji grabbed my hand and yanked me out of my chair. I looked at him skeptically. "What?" He dug in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. My eyes widened as I stared at the keys in his hand. He gave them to me smiling. "You guys bought me a car?!" I screamed. I was ecstatic. I had a car. I FINALLY had a car! He ran outside and I followed, trying to keep my human running speed on. My eyes landed on a shiny silver Cadillac. "No way. Neji you've got to be kidding me, you bought me a Cadillac?" I laughed. Neji burst into laughter, as did Hinata. "Sorry I think I gave you the wrong keys, these are yours. He tossed me another set of keys and I handed the first set back. "Well where is the car?" I asked excited. My cousin pointed a long finger to a lone truck on the side of the house. I stared at it in disbelief. I'd seen this car before. It was old, very old. My truck was a strange green color. It looked like something from just after the Model T era. But I liked it. It was simple, natural. It was ordinary. "Thanks!" I hugged my cousin and sister. I was practically jumping off the wall.

"Hey!" Itachi called from inside. "Hanabi, you've still got mine to open!" I thought I had told him not to buy my anything. I ran back to my chair. Itachi placed a small box in my hand. I glared at him, "I told you not to buy my anything." "Ah, but I found a loop hole! I didn't buy you anything. I've had this for a while." My glared didn't soften until I opened the box. There at the bottom was a necklace. There was a gold chain and on the chain was a silver rose. Silver, I knew that wasn't just a coincidence now. But it was very pretty. I smiled down into the box and lifted the necklace in my hands. "Thank you," I breathed. I looked up at Itachi, he was smiling softly at me. His eyes burning, but not with anger, with passion. I handed to him and turned so my back was facing him. I lifted my brown hair out of the way for him to put on my necklace. He clipped my necklace around my neck but his cold hands lingered on my skin. He removed his hands too soon.

I turned to see Hidan standing on the staircase. Her expression was unreadable. It looked like a mixture of fear and worry. Her eyes were glassy, I looked at Itachi. Their eyes were locked on one another's. I heard him gasp. "No…" It was too low for my sister and cousin to hear. He turned back to my and my family. "Sorry, but we've got to end the party early. We've just been faced with some family problems. It would probably be best for my family to be alone right now, I truly am sorry." Itachi walked me to the door, Neji and Hinata were already in their car. "Hanabi, I want you to drive back to the dorms. I will be there when you get to the dorm. I will bring you back here. There's an emergency." I tried to read his face. His eyes were red. But he wasn't angry. He looked scared. "Itachi what's wrong? Has something happened to your parents?" He shook his head. "No. That was just to get your family out. This is a bigger problem, just please follow my instruction and don't do anything stupid!" I nodded and ran to my car. I plugged my keys into the ignition and turned them. My old truck roared to life. The noise made me jump. I pushed my truck into drive and road down the dirt road to back to Kumo. The whole way wondering what on earth could instill fear into the bravest person I knew. Into my miracle. My Itachi.


	14. Ready?

Chapter 14

Ready?

As he had promised, Itachi was in my dorm when I walked in. I had closed the door when I felt his arms wrap around me, "Hanabi, lets get going. We're going back to the house. Kai-El and Dom are on the way." I turned to face him, "Itachi what's going on?" He opened his mouth but said nothing. "I'll tell you when we get to the house. Let's go, can you run or do I need to carry you?" "I can run," I said as I replaced my flipflops with sneakers. "Out the window?" He nodded and went before me. I looked down at the ground before leaping out the window. Itachi managed to catch me. Then we were running, it was a little difficult to keep up, but at least I wasn't tripping over my own feet.

We were at his house in about the same amount of time it took to drive there. Michel and Hidan were on the couch speaking in hushed tones. When we walked in, they stared at us. Both had the same expression. "What's going on here?" I demanded. Kneese rushed down the stairs followed by Zephr. All eyes were on me. All eyes, except the indigo ones, Itachi's. Nobody spoke. "What's going on?!" I screamed. Itachi turned and stroked my face. "Something's happening. Hidan saw something," he said quietly. "What? What did she see?" I whispered. He took a deep breath before answering. "She saw another coven coming. They're coming for you, they want to meet you." I didn't understand. What was so scary about more vampires coming? "How many are there?" Zephr asked to nobody in particular. "Four," Itachi and Hidan said in unison. Michel snorted, "Are you serious? Bring 'em! We've got a coven of five _and_ a siren and an elf! Not to mention if we really need help we'll be able to ask Sasuke! We'll own!" Hidan rolled her eyes, "We won't know how dangerous they are until they get here. So we'll just have to wait it out."

Itachi held his head in his hands. "How did they know we were here?!" Hidan was by his side in a second. "I don't know, but they're coming. Maybe they're like us. I don't know. But we'll need to contact your brother. We might need a hunter…" Itachi nodded and pulled out his cell phone. "Sasuke, don't hang up! We need you. Yeah, we've got a possible job for you." Itachi was speaking fast, I guessed to keep his brother on the phone. "Four. Kai-El and Dom are on their way, yes. Thank you Sasuke," he pulled the phone away from his face and began dialing again. "Dom, where are you?" Everyone was staring at Itachi while he tried to keep composure over the phone. "How long until you get here? Alright, we've got Sasuke on our side now. Okay, thirty minutes? Alright, I'll put her on," Itachi held the phone out to me. I took it and timidly placed it against my ear, "Hello?"

"Lassie!" Dom said into the phone. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, of course Dom. I'm fine, where are you and Kai-El?" I asked him.

"Were right at the edge of Kumo right now, we'll be there in about thirty minutes, will you be okay until then?" "I think so. I'll be safe with Itachi." I heard Dom sigh on the other end. "Alright then, Lassie. Try to remember, if you end up alone with one from the other cover, silver and dead man's blood. We'll see you soon," then the line went dead. I handed the phone over to Itachi and there was a knock on the door. Itachi grabbed my hand and squeezed it slightly. The door opened and Sasuke walked inside. I held my breath, my last meeting with the youngest Uchiha sibling had not gone so well. Sasuke was dressed in odd clothing. Not like the rest of us who were wearing jeans and t-shirts. Sasuke was dressed in black baggy pants and a flannel shirt. On his shoulder was a duffle bag that looked incredibly heavy.

"Sasuke, it's nice to see you after so long," Kneese said smiling. Sasuke smiled back, a genuine smile, something I couldn't picture him capable of. "It is good to see you Kneese, you too Hidan, Michel." He dropped his bag on the floor and unzipped it. "Alright, what kinda monster are we talking about here?" he asked as he dug through his bag. "Four vampires, that's it," Hidan said, it sounded like she was straining herself. "Mixedblood, pureblood, white-blood, feral, what are we talkin' here Hidan?" She sighed, "I don't know! I can only tell so much from my power." I saw Sasuke roll his eyes, "Yeah, I noticed." Hidan's response was a low growl from the back of her throat. Sasuke looked up at me and I flinched. Itachi's grip on my hand tightened. "What can you do?" he asked me. It took me a few seconds to respond. "I can um… manipulate air, and run. I think that's it." He groaned and looked at his brother, "Mind if I give her a weapon?" Itachi's eyes went red, "Yes! You can just go handing off weapons that can kill vampires to people! You want to give Hanabi a hunting weapon?! There's no way!" The brothers glared at each other. "You can't expect her to stay here when they come if she's not given a weapon, can you," Sasuke asked mockingly. "She won't need a weapon! I'll protect her," he growled between his teeth. "Itachi, I think he's right," Michel said.

Sasuke motioned for me to approach. I did so but cautiously. He rolled his eyes at me, "I'm not going to eat you, get over here." I followed his instructions and knelt beside him. He pulled out a pair of leather gloves from his back and began riffling around inside. He pulled out a large gun and placed it by his side, "What is this?" I asked picking it up. He looked like he was about to snatch it out of his hand but stopped. "It's called a White Colt. One of the only guns in the world that can kill vampires," he gently pulled it out of my grip and placed it back at his feet. He pulled out a large dagger and handed it to me. I pulled it out of its hard leather pocket. There was cross on it near the hand guard. "This is what you will be using. If they come at you stab wherever you can. Silver is like a branding iron for vampires." He dug through his bag again and pulled out a vile of red fluid. A shiver went through the room. Itachi, Hidan, Michel, and even Sasuke all shuddered as he handed the vile to me. "What is this?" He swallowed, as if his throat was dry. "Dead man's blood. All you need to know is that if you are going to use this stuff get ready to run." I nodded as the possibility of a fight became real to me. I wanted to seem strong; I didn't want to look like a weakling.

I slipped the knife into my jeans pocket. I couldn't stand the air in the room. It was thick and heavy. I couldn't breathe. I had to get out! I darted up the stairs and searched until I found a room that looked like Itachi's. Stereo, couch, wall of music, yeah I was sure this was it. I sat on his couch in a ball. Why did these vampires, good or bad, want to see me? What did I have to do with anything? A knock at the door shocked me but I didn't move. The door opened and then closed. "Hanabi," his voice was soft in my ear. "Are you alright?" I began sobbing. I wasn't sure why but it sobbed. He moved to place me in his lap and I cried against his chest, ruining his white shirt. I heard the door open in the floor below and Dom's loud voice echo through the house reverberating against the walls. They were here. "How far away is the coven?" I asked through sobs. I felt him stiffen. "They will be here in a few minutes, Love. Ten at the most." I gripped his shirt, "I'm scared," I whispered. A chuckle rippled through his body. "That's my girl. You're finally afraid of us. I was wondering when this day would come." I appreciated his attempt at cheering me up. I didn't know what to do, I was terrified. "Sing," he said to me. "Sing our song." I took a shaky breath and sang. "Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose. Will I ever see thee wed?" He picked up from there, "I will marry at thy will, Sire, at thy will." We sang for a while before Itachi stopped short and looked towards the door.

"What is it?" I asked. He didn't answer. "Itachi, what is it?" His mouth straightened to a line. "They are here."


	15. Warning

Chapter 15

Warning

Itachi and I waited on the stair well. He had angled himself so that I was behind his right shoulder. The knife in my pocket suddenly felt like it weighed a thousands pounds and it felt like it was almost burning a hole through my jeans. The door squeaked open and revealed the darkness of the night. The thick rain blew through the door forming small puddles on the hard wood floor. That's when they stepped in.

Four of them, like Hidan had predicted. There were two males and two females. They were beautiful of course. But they were terrifying as well. All of them looked like cats about to pounce. Their bodies hunched over slightly, like an animal and their eyes were different. The eyes of these vampires were nowhere near the same as the eyes of Dom's coven. Their eyes were a bright silvery color. The men were about the same height as Itachi. One had short brown hair that was plastered to his head, as if he had been sweating. The other had shoulder length blonde hair. He had an all too friendly smirk on his face. The women were a full head taller than me. One had short bobbed platinum blonde hair, she seemed bouncy, like Kneese. The other has long curly red hair. She glared at me and I did not look away. I would not let these creatures let them know I was afraid.

"Welcome to my home," Dom said welcomingly. He smiled brightly at them, only the male with the brown hair returned the friendly gesture. "The pleasure is ours. We knew this is where we would find the rumored Hanabi Hyuga, but I did not expect to find purebreds here." He had a thick Australian accent. He bowed deeply and the rest followed his lead. Itachi led me down the stairs and stopped in front of the coven.

"Well, I do say," the female with the red hair said. "I did not expect to find the Uchiha brothers here." She sounded a bit Louisiana Cajun… She curtsied smiling then turned to me. "Miss Hyuga! I've heard so much about you. The girl from the prophecy. The girl who would bring all of the creatures of our world together. I must say…I did expect someone a little…taller," she said looking over my head. I glared at her, she just smiled.

Dom stepped in before I could utter an insult. "This is my family," he said sweeping his hand across the room. "My adopted sons, Itachi, Sasuke, and Michel and my adopted daughters, Kneese and Hidan. This is my wife, Kai-El." The first male smiled at him again. "It is very nice to meet you all. I'd like to introduce you to my coven. My name is Jesse, and these are Louie, Yuki, and you've all ready met Leah," he said shooting a warning glance at the red haired girl. "May I ask your business here?" Kai-El asked, her voice sounded colder than normal. Apparently Jesse picked up on that and frowned slightly before answering. "We were sent here to check up on the girl. Our master was very curious as to how Hanabi was adjusting to her…abilities." I felt Itachi tense beside me. "May I ask who you were sent by?" he asked calmly. The coven turned their attention toward Itachi and they all crouched down on one knee in a strange sort of bow. I looked to Itachi for reason behind their strange action but he wasn't looking at me. His eyes just rolled in the sockets and his face gave and exasperated expression, as if this was just the way things were normally, but I had never seen anyone _bow_ to Itachi before.

"It is an honor to be in the home of a purebred like yourself, Itachi Uchiha," Leah said. I couldn't stand the way her voice sounded when she said his name. Her accent made it sound like he was something to eat, a prize. Itachi inclined his head slightly, asking them to rise. That's when we all heard a chuckled from the other side of the room. Leah shot up and was in front of Sasuke before I could blink. He held a smirk on his face despite the glare she was giving him in return. "You have nerve showing your filthy face here, you cretin!" she spat at him. Sasuke lifted his finger and wiped a small drop of spit off of his cheek. "I feel totally offended," he said mockingly, "I am a pureblood as well." She snarled at him, he continued grinning. I heard Itachi's breath quicken and turned to face him. His chest was heaving, up and down, up and down. "Don't you dare lay a finger on my little brother," he growled from between his teeth. Leah turned to face him and smiled, "How did you know?" Louie, who hadn't said a word yet, finally spoke up. "He can read…no that's wrong, listen to minds." Itachi shook his head. "I can listen to the minds of creatures like us. But I read the minds of humans. But getting back to my question, who sent you?" This time he wasn't as polite.

"Sorry," Leah said smiling. "It would be in our master's best interest if he stayed incognito." I saw Itachi's nostrils flare and his upper lip curl over his top row of perfectly straight teeth. "Tell me who he is now." Louie raised his brow, "Or what?" Leah charged at Itachi but I didn't see her touch him at all. I saw her run at him and stop just inches away from him but never lay a finger on his body. But he was on the hard wood floor, writhing in pain. He was screaming in pain, his eyes were wide as he spazed on the floor. I was in shock. This was the first time I had seen a vampire hurt another vampire. Shocking still, this was the first time I had seen a vampire in pain.

"Stop it! Please stop! You're hurting him!" I shouted. Leah looked up at me and Itachi was released from his pain. "You listen to me girl, I'm here on official business. That is the only reason you're not dead yet." I flinched. Itachi growled under his breath. I pushed my fear back and glared at her, she wasn't going to talk to me that way and she certainly wasn't going to treat Itachi and the rest of my friends this way. "Oh really? I'm honored that you've kept me alive so long, oh mighty one," I spat at her. She looked away from me and back at Itachi, once again he was screaming, the pain flooded him. I couldn't scream soon enough, it was Kai-El who shouted now. "Leave him alone!" Leah glared in Kai-El direction. "Yuki?" she called behind her. "Yes Leah? Something I can do for you?" Leah nodded, "Cool these folks down will you? I have something I would like to say to Hanabi without being interrupted."

Yuki nodded and closed her eyes. I waited and looked around. Nothing had changed, but it was awkwardly silent. I didn't even hear any breathing. I turned to Itachi but he was frozen. Not one muscle moved, not even his eye lids fluttered. This was wrong, something wasn't right. Even Kneese, bubbly jumpy Kneese, was immobile. "What the hell did you do to them?" I growled at Yuki. She rolled her eyes at me, "Just put them into a sort of extended animation. They're frozen, unable to move, breathe, anything. They can see and hear us though, say hi." Then Leah approached me. Jesse reached for her arm to hold her back but she shook his grip off. "Now you listen and you listen well. The title of Princess of Vampires does not belong to you and never will. You are not worthy of it in the least you wretch. Not even the _noble Uchiha's_ should be able to claim that title. With one child feeding on animals instead of humans and the other a hunter, and their father being who he was, I'm surprised the council hasn't terminated them yet! But I will never serve a pathetic human like you, I'd rather die!"

She picked me up off the floor using one hand, she held my collar. "Mark my words girl. You _will_ die by my hand." I reached around and pulled the silver knife out of my back pocket and made a shallow clean fast cut on her hand. She dropped me and held her hand, keeping her thick wine like blood from falling to the floor. I was surprised that I actually made a cut. I knew how to fight, work with knives, swords, guns, and the whole shebang. But that I actually inflicted damage was a shock. I glared at her, "Get out. Now." She chuckled and lunged at me. She ripped the knife from my grip before I got a chance to brace myself. I did have time to see her run the knife across her teeth, as if she were biting into it and drove it into me. She made a long cut from my left hip to my right shoulder.

I couldn't feel anything at first. I just stood there, in awe. She grinned at me before dropping the knife and darting out the door, her coven in tow. I began to feel faint. I crumbled to the ground and gripped my stomach. Then a loud crack sounded, and I heard voices. I couldn't think, couldn't understand. "Hanabi!" one voice screamed. A female voice. I wanted to say something but I couldn't remember where I was. The voice sounded so far away. "No! Hanabi, can you hear me? Please Hanabi, no!" another shouted. "Hidan, Michel, get out of here, go track down that coven, the smell of the blood is probably making them want to hunt. Stop them before they get the chance. Zephr, Kneese, go with them." This voice sounded calmer. "Itachi, I think that girl spiked the knife with venom. While I'm putting pressure, I need you to suck out the venom." Itachi? He was here? I tried to remember. But I couldn't. "Ita…" I managed to push out. "Domonic…I don't think I can." It was the voice of an angel. But this angel didn't sound happy, it sounded sad, scared, hurt. "Itachi, if you don't Hanabi will become a feral or worse. You must try."

I struggled to open my eyes. "Itachi?" I heard him gasp. "Yes, I'm here Hanabi. What's wrong?" I was suddenly engulfed in pain. It felt as if someone had thrown my body into a furnace. "It hurts! Get me out, please let me out! It burns!" I screamed. "Now Itachi!" Dom's voice commanded. I felt the cold fingers of my miracle wrap around my body and pull me towards him. Then I felt his lips land on the center of my chest, just above the deepest part of my wound. At first the burning increased, I squirmed to get away from the pain on instinct. Then it slowly faded to a dull throbbing. "Itachi…Itachi! It's over, let her go."

"Hanabi?" I heard Itachi's voice call to me. "Are you out?" I nodded warily. "I'm out of the furnace." I felt him lift me again and he kissed me. Kissed what ever he reached first. My angel sounded relieved. "Let's move her now, Dom." "No…I'm tired. I want to sleep Ita," I murmured trying not to slur my words. "It's okay, Love. You can sleep," he reassured me. I sighed as I began to drift to sleep. I couldn't go to sleep though, I needed the angel to know something before I fell asleep. "Imlurvyou," my words clumped together. He just chuckled then whispered back. "I love you too." And even in my delirious state I noted that moment in my memory. It was the first time he had said he loved me.


	16. Peace

Chapter 16

Peace

I woke cradled in warmth. Something I wasn't very used to with Itachi sleeping next to me every night. I felt something scratching my throat, it was a tube, stuck down my throat sticking out of my mouth. I reached to yank it out when a hand grabbed mine. "Oh no you don't," he smiled at me. "I'll get a nurse." He reached behind me and pressed a button on the wall. A nurse was in there in a few seconds. "Oh you're awake Miss Hyuga." She came to me and slowly pulled the tube from my throat and poured me a glass of water. "I'll be back in a few minutes with another dose of Morphine." She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

I drank the whole glass of water in one swallow. "Are you okay?" he asked me, he was worried again. I couldn't stand when he worried about me. "As okay as a girl attacked by a homicidal vampire can be," I smiled. He didn't look at me. I grabbed his chin and tried to get him to look at me, he helped of course and turned to face me, "Do not think this is your fault! You didn't make this happen." He gently wrapped his long fingers around my wrist and ran his nose over my wrist, inhaling. "I'm so glad you're safe. If vampires could cry…" he left his sentence hanging. I smiled at him, "So how do I taste? Just as good as I smell?" He chuckled and finally looked me in the eyes, "Even better than I thought."

He sighed then pulled away from me, sitting as far back in the chair as possible. "What is it?" He grimaced, "You father, he's coming." I gasp then winced. I'd have to try to remember not to move so much. "My dad is here?! Where is he?" Itachi moved to the reclining chair in the far corner of the room and leaned back and closed his eyes. "You gonna stay?" I asked him. He nodded, "I'm sleeping, do you mind being quiet?" he said grinning. I smirked. "Remember to breathe." He smiled as he breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, emphasizing the movement of chest up and down. The door opened and in walked my father. He looked terrible. Like he'd been away for weeks. His eyes had dark circles under them and he mouth was turned down in a frown.

"Hey Dad," I smiled at him. He smiled back, but it didn't look like a real smile, more like a business smile. "I'm so glad your okay, Hanabi. Your sister and cousin were worried sick." He turned and saw Itachi lying in the reclining chair and grimaced. "So this is Itachi. You should have seen him when you went into surgery; he was practically soldered to you. He refused to leave your side. Only when the doctors mentioned a blood transfusion did he leave. Weak stomach I guess." I blushed, I could only imagine the pain he was in while he watched me go into surgery, and the amount of blood in that room must have practically driven him crazy. I shot a glance around my father to Itachi who opened one eye to wink at me then closed it. "He really cares about you, I'm partially glad that he cares about you so much. Without him you'd by lying in the ditch where that mugger left you, dead." I scoffed under my breath. I'd have to give Itachi a high five after this was all over.

"Hanabi," he breathed. "I realize that I somewhat forced you to go to the school and judging from where we are now, it's been hard on you. If you would like to come home, you are welcome." I body went cold. My father, the man who forced me to go to that stupid school, Kumo, was willing to take me home. Where my life was, the sun, the cicadas, the warmth. No…that was wrong. My life wasn't in Konoha. My life was nestled in the corner of my hospital room, subtly eavesdropping on my conversation with my father. My life went by the name Itachi Uchiha. My life was not in Konoha, it wasn't in Kumo either, it was wherever Itachi went.

I shook my head. "No dad, that's alright. I'm already halfway through the first semester, I might as well finish the year. And Kumo isn't that bad anyway. I have friends who I love, I don't want to leave them." My father turned and looked at Itachi again. "Is this why you don't want to leave?" he asked me. I hesitated before answering. "Yes. Itachi is my friend. I truly care about him and his family. His parents have taken care of my like I was there own and I'm really good friends with his sister and brother." He nodded. "Just remember, you are engaged, Hanabi. Please try to remember that." I flinched. I had prayed he wouldn't have mentioned that while Itachi was near. But since he could read minds, he probably already knew. "I won't forget…" He smiled at me and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"You knew, didn't you?" I asked Itachi, my throat was going dry as my sentence came out. "I have no clue what you are referring to Hanabi," he said confused. "You heard what he said. You knew didn't you!?" He shrugged. "I was sleeping, remember? I didn't hear a thing." Tears spilled over my eyes and ran down my cheeks. I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. "You must think I'm a monster." He wrapped his arms around me and held me. "You're a monster? Then what am I?" he said kissing my throat. I continued sobbing. "No, you are no monster, Hanabi. Do you love me, Hanabi?" I nodded shakily. "Then no, you're not a monster. Even if there came a time when you wished to leave and be with another man, you wouldn't be a monster. And if it comes to that Hanabi, I will let you leave and you will have my blessings."

"No. I'm not leaving." He chuckled lightly. "Nice to hear it. Why don't you sleep, now? You're probably in pain." I shrugged. "I probably should sleep… Itachi, why did you stay?" He looked at me confused then rubbed his temples. "It is sometimes to exasperating not being able to read your thoughts. What is it that you mean?" "Why did you stay with me for so long? Even through surgery? It must have been so painful for you." He grinned and kissed my forehead. "What can I say? I'm a masochist." He sighed, he was suddenly very serious. "I made you a promise. Remember? I'll always be there for you. Always." The nurse walked in carrying a baggy of some kind of liquid. She attached it to the IV and let the medicine flow through the tube and into my body. I almost instantly felt groggy.

"Thank you, we'll call if we need anything," Itachi said to the nurse, he was smiling, using he illegal smile. I wasn't to tired to notice how the nurse shifted in toward Itachi and flipped her hair, batted her eyelashes, and smiled back before walking out. "What happened to the coven?" I asked, forcing my words to come out. "Hidan and Michel managed to track down one, Louie I think is name was. Kneese caught up with the other male, Jesse, and took care if him. The two females were together, Zephr and Sasuke following them until they reached the water front. They managed to get away." I nodded lazily as my eye lids began to droop. "Sleep," he laughed as he laid me down against the pillow. "No…I want to stay with you." He gave me a quick kiss then laughed. "I told you, I'll always be here. Now sleep."

I obeyed and slowly began to drift to sleep. I wanted to tell him I loved him but I couldn't get the words out. "Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose. Will I ever see thee wed? I will marry at thy will, Sire, at thy will." I gently squeezed his hand and drifted to sleep. I fell asleep in the arms of my miracle. In the arms of my life. I prayed then that it was where I would spend the rest of my days.


	17. Epilogue

Chapter 17

Epilogue

I made my way to the car. Not the crimson Porsche this time. This time we climbed into Hidan's "old" (yeah right, this car was only a 2006) mustang. It was bright blue, attention drawing still. I tried to sit comfortably in the outfit I was wearing. Light purple frilly dress. I blew the pieces of my hair out of my face, not daring to touch them after the three hours Kneese had spent making me "presentable for the occasion". I still was clueless as to where we were going. My first guess was that we were headed to dinner, just for me and him, but Kneese, Michel, Hidan, and Zephr we also dressed up. "Tell me where we're going!" I shouted in his ear. Itachi turned toward me, his mouth was hanging open. "I am utterly shocked that you still haven't realized where we're going." I crossed my arms over my chest and growled under my breath. I had spent all day, from eleven until nine, in Coppedge getting dolled up by Kneese for whatever reason.

Itachi turned on the car and muttered some words before we started spinning. I was used to the feeling of the skipper now. The pressure on my skull felt like nothing now. We landed on a dirt road, it looked pretty deserted. I continued pouting and began to play with my necklace as we droved off the dirt road and hit pavement. Apparently Itachi was making an effort to make me feel better, the speedometer only read fifty. "Thank you," I muttered without making eye contact. I could hear the smile on his face. "You're welcome." We drove for another few miles before we turned into the school parking lot. "What are we doing at school?" I asked confused. He rolled his eyes and pointed a large sign on the school wall.

_WELCOME TO THE ANNUAL KUMO NEW YEARS PARTY_

I gasped as Itachi opened my door. "No! You did not bring me to a dance!" I gapped. "Well technically it's a 'party' not a 'dance'," he grinned as he offered me a long coat. I ripped it from his hand and climbed out of the car myself. I pulled on my coat as the cold winter air rushed past my body making me shiver. "Don't you remember the Hanabi/Dance factor? I don't dance, Itachi!" He smiled at me and grabbed my hand, "Please?" I rolled my eyes as I walked past him and toward the door, my arms over my chest. He caught up with me in no time flat.

We walked toward the ticket table where he handed over two tickets then pulled me inside. I snickered as I took in my surroundings. It looked like the prom scene from the movie Carrie. There were streamers and balloon arches and a disco ball installed into the ceiling. "Wow. This looks like a horror movie scene," I said grinning. "We've got enough mythical monsters here to make it one. You game?" he whispered in my ear. "Sure, I'll lock the doors, get Zephr to pull his cool magic on everyone here and you, Hidan, Michel, and Sasuke have fun. Kneese and I will stand in the corner, making sure to mess up our hair." He laughed, more like barked. Kneese, Zephr, Hidan, and Michel were already here. They were on the dance floor. Sasuke was sitting on the bleachers listening to an Ipod. I grinned, just like him to be antisocial at a dance. I shrugged out of my coat and sat down in a chair.

"What do you think you're doing?" Itachi asked me. "Not dancing, I'm working really hard and your about to ruin all my hard work." He grinned and pulled me out of my seat and onto the dance floor. I blushed wildly as I struggled to make sentences. "Itachi, I really can't dance. Please don't make me do this." He bent his head down and whispered into my ear, "It's okay, just follow me." He lifted me to rest my feet on top of his. The balls of the high-heeled strappy shoes I had on rested on Itachi dark black dress shoes. He waited a few seconds before he began dancing. I guess he was listening for the tempo. He waltzed around in a circle, like his family. It felt like I was on a carousel, I felt like a total idiot. I noticed how we were slowly making our way toward the open door that led to the courtyard. Once out of the gymnasium we walked hand in hand toward the small bench in the center of the courtyard.

As I sat I noticed how nice he looked in a tuxedo. "You look mighty charming," I noted. He smiled at me, I smiled back. "I am truly curious, where did you think you were going?" I smiled timidly, "At first out to dinner, then I realized how stupid that actually was." He chuckled then asked again. "So after that?" I blushed and turned away. I wasn't going to be ashamed of my thoughts, my hopes. Was I? "I thought you were going to turn me." I looked back at him to take in his expression. "What do you mean?" I sighed heavily. "I thought you were going to turn me into one of you." I was surprised he didn't turn around and storm off down the sidewalk. He just grinned and repositioned his tie. "And you thought something like that was a formal occasion?" I shrugged and smiled back at him. We sat in silence, holding hands for a moment before he spoke again. "Is that something you want?" he asked me. "Do you want to be changed? You want to be one of us?" I nodded. It was all I could do. He smiled again. "Well, I'm not going to, so I apologize." He kissed me, his guarded kiss, of course. I stood and skipped over to the small fountain that was turned off at the moment. I ran my fingers over the top of the water. It was freezing cold. Small pieces of frost floated at the top. I looked back at him, he was watching me. Something caught my eyes. Under the bench. A small crumpled piece of paper.

I crouched down and reached for it. It was dirty, water stained too. "What's that?" Itachi asked me as I unfolded the paper. I grinned as I looked down at it. "This goes to show you the janitors at our school aren't doing their jobs. Look at this." I held the paper out to Itachi, he held it in his hand and smiled. "Let's keep it," he suggested while he pushed the paper into his jacket pocket. "Alright, I'm all for it," I said as I leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around my body and began humming. I pulled the paper out of his pocket and read it again. I giggled as I read what was printed in messy handwriting, my handwriting. In the middle of that manila colored envelope was one word. The word that started it all, the reason I was were I stood tonight.

Vampire.


	18. ALERT!

For all the followers of my bird series, just so you know, a MUCH better remake of my stories have been posted on . With original characters, and a slightly different plot line, but don't worry nothing too drastic. Right now I only have the first one posted and it's not finished yet. It will be much longer than the fanfiction though. I hope you guys read it! I'm working really hard on it, just for you!


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